Category: Safety

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROTECT YOURSELF’: OKLA. HOUSE PASSES 2 BILLS RELATING TO PROPERTY RIGHTS

OKLAHOMA CITY –

There are multiple protections in the state including “Stand Your Ground” and the “Castle Doctrine” allowing Oklahomans to use physical or deadly force, if it’s in self-defense.

A bill passing through the House Thursday expands part of the Castle Doctrine.

“It’s a simple bill, on your property if you feel that your life is threatened, you have the right to protect yourself,” said Rep. David Hardin, (R) Stillwell.

House Bill 2049 expands the definition of a dwelling- allowing people to use physical or deadly force against people trespassing anywhere on their private property, not just breaking into their actual house.

The previous law only applied to self-defense when a person broke into the actual home.

Democrats argue that this creates a vague law and opens more doors to problems.

“There are too many opportunities for accidental mishaps if we extend the Castle Doctrine,” said Rep. John Waldron (D) Tulsa.

Rep. Jay Steagle, (R) Yukon, argued that this is just a recognition of what should already be in the law.

“Suggesting that an individual has the right to be on someone else’s private property before any kind of action needs to be taken- even conversation is absolutely ridiculous,” said Rep. Steagle.

Many republicans say this bill is necessary for rural areas of the state.

“I live 30 minutes away from a maximum-security prison- I don’t have time to ask them what they’re doing there, I need to have the right to protect my property,” said Rep. Jim Grego, (R) Wilburton.

Democrats say property lines aren’t always clear, and that this can create problems for people who may be out hiking or hunting.

“Are you all familiar with somebody that’s been affected by being out in a rural area and death coming to you because you are out on someone else’s land,” questioned Rep. Goodwin.

With all the debate the author reminded house members the intent behind his bill was simple.

“This bill is never intended for you to walk out and shoot anyone you want on your property, this bill is intended for you to be able to protect yourself,” Rep. Hardin said.

Oklahoma House Republicans vote to expand a person’s right to self-defense with a firearm

House Republicans advanced a bill Thursday to extend the area where a person can defend themselves with a firearm, an expansion of the so-called “castle doctrine” that has been a top priority for pro-gun groups for years.

House Bill 2049 changed the definition of “dwelling” from a building or house to the edge of the property line, possibly justifying a person’s use of deadly force to protect themselves as long as they are on land they own or rent.

Also referred to as “stand your ground laws,” Oklahoma law does not require a person to leave a situation if they feel threatened. Instead, current law states someone has a right to stay and shoot a person who is threatening their safety, as long as they are in their home.

Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, the bill’s author, said that the expectation of self-defense should include the entire property.

“This is a simple bill … on your property if you feel that your life is threatened you have a right to protect yourself,” Hardin said. “This bill was never intended where you could just walk out and shoot anybody on your property. But if that person confronts you with deadly force, then you would be allowed to use deadly force.”

The bill now heads to the state Senate for consideration.

Democrats, who voted against the bill, expressed concern that innocent encounters, possibly with trick-or-treaters or hikers mistakenly coming onto private property, could end in a shooting death.

Rep. Monroe Nichols, and other state House Democrats, gathered for a news conference on June 2, 2022, to call for gun control measures.
“Maybe I’ve been watching too much ‘Yellowstone,'” said Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, referring to the violent television show that centers on property rights disputes in Montana. “But can you understand that there is some concern that this definition really opens this up to the possibility of unsafe actions?”

Hardin disputed those claims, saying any shooting would still be investigated by law enforcement and a person would be held accountable if it were determined their life or safety was not at risk.

Pro-gun groups have lobbied for the bill, including the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association.

Missouri: Committee Hearing Public Transit Self-Defense

On Wednesday, the House Emerging Issues Committee will hear House Bill 282, to ensure law-abiding citizens may carry firearms for self-defense on public transit. Please click here to file witness forms to support HB 282. 

In addition, please contact committee members and ask them to SUPPORT HB 282.

House Bill 282 removes the prohibition on law-abiding citizens carrying firearms for self-defense on public transit property and in vehicles. In addition, it allows law-abiding citizens to transport unloaded or non-functioning firearms on buses. This repeals an arbitrary “gun-free zone” that does nothing to hinder criminals while leaving law-abiding citizens defenseless, and it 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.

Again, please file witness forms and contact committee members and ask them to SUPPORT HB 282.

I prefer RRLP (Reduced Ricochet Limited Penetration) frangible that the Navy developed for boarding operations -extra unplanned holes in the hulls of ships being a bad thing – for inside the house. Otherwise, I use Blackhills 70 grain TSX.  Your choice may be different.

The Best 5.56 Ammo for Home Defense

If you’re looking for the best 5.56 NATO ammo on the market, then you’ve come to the right place! With so many different varieties of 5.56 ammo available from multiple retailers, it can be hard to know what’s best for home defense.

In this article, we are going to share with you our top 5 picks for the best 5.56 NATO home defense ammo available right now.

If you simply cannot wait, the best 5.56 ammo for home defense AR-15 rifle is Black Hills 62 gr Dual Purpose. But if you want to see the full list just keep scrolling and we’ll cover all our choices and explain why we picked them.

If you’re new to the 5.56x45mm NATO round, make sure to check out the Buyers Guide by clicking HERE.

Now let’s get to our top 5 picks for the best types of ammo for your 5.56 rifle…

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Kostas Moros

Few baseless claims are more frustrating than the idea that anyone who cares about the right to keep and bear arms “doesn’t care about people being murdered” and that we somehow support mass shooters.

No, we hate those vile lowlifes so much that we want them to be promptly shot in the head when their rampage begins, and not ten minutes later when the police arrive and the harm is already done.

There have been many examples of armed good Samaritans either preventing mass shootings entirely, or cutting short ones that would have hurt or killed many more people. Unfortunately, too many states preemptively disarm good samaritans by either making CCW permits hard to get, or by allowing “gun free zones” to proliferate, where killers know they are unlikely to meet armed resistance.

Also too often, the media does not cover prevented mass shootings with anywhere near the same attention as they do completed atrocities. That’s a shame, given we know that a big chunk of mass shooters are obsessed with becoming infamous. They need to be made aware that their vision of twisted glory can commonly end with Dicken-style humiliation.

Stop fearing them. Instead, it’s long past time we make these dirtbags afraid.

IN SELF-DEFENSE
ARMED CITIZENS ARE FIGHTING BACK

There are now 25 states with so-called “Constitutional carry” and Florida appears to be approaching permitless carry, which translates to more citizens soon being able to carry defensive firearms without having to jump through the hoops of a licensing process.

There is another translation: Criminals, be careful … be very careful. In fact, now might be a good time to reconsider your career choices and see if the hardware store is hiring.

I routinely report on the number of active concealed pistol licenses in my home state of Washington, and following a slight end-of-year dip reported Jan. 3, the number has been steadily climbing. Last month, a whopping 698,186 active CPLs were reported by the state Department of Licensing.

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Arizona Wants to Use Public Schools to Demystify and Destigmatize Guns

The Arizona House of Representatives is working hard to secure gun rights for the citizens of the Grand Canyon State. It has so far passed a slew of bills that include legalizing gun silencers and allowing parents to carry firearms on school campuses. Another bill that is raising eyebrows is HB 2332, which will require middle and high schools to offer training on how to properly handle a firearm. According to Arizona’s local NPR, parents would still be able to opt out. But even with this provision, groups like Moms Demand Action and Civic Engagement Beyond Voting are speaking out against the measure.

PHOENIX – Arizona’s House of Representatives is continuing to advance a bill requiring public middle and high schools in Arizona to offer training on the proper handling of firearms.

Rep. Selina Bliss, R-Prescott, who sponsored HB 2332, said she wants children to learn proper firearms handling from experts to stop accidental deaths, and denied that the bill was about training children to use firearms.

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Debunking the gun-banners’ false constitutional-carry claims
Gov. DeSantis will likely sign the bill long before its July 1 effective date.

Nearly every anti-gun group in the country has descended upon Tallahassee to try to stop Florida from becoming the 26th state to allow residents and visitors to carry concealed firearms without a permission slip from the government.

It’s an important mission for the gun-ban industry, because once Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the bill — and he will — a majority of states will allow unlicensed or permitless carry. For pro-gun advocates, this would be a significant victory in the war to restore our Second Amendment rights, and the other team will do anything they can to prevent that from happening.

It’s important to point out that neither Florida’s HB 543 nor its companion bill, SB 150, are traditional constitutional-carry bills, since neither bill legalizes the open carry of arms. True constitutional carry allows gun owners to decide for themselves whether to carry arms openly or concealed. Despite Republican super-majorities in both the House and the Senate, and a governor who’s promised to sign “constitutional carry” legislation, open carry was not included in either bill. We still have not been told why, at least not officially.

In what has been called “smart bundling,” SB 150 also includes numerous school-safety provisions, such as expanding Florida’s School Guardian program, adding funds for hardening schools, providing additional money for gun-sniffing dogs, clarifying zero-tolerance policies and ensuring every law enforcement agency has an active-shooter policy. So, a vote against the bill can be seen as a vote against school safety.

Regardless of what the bill is called or its other offerings, the very thought of restoring more gun rights — especially in Florida — has brought the gun-banners out in droves. We’ve seen members of Everytown, Demanding Moms, Demanding Students, Giffords, Brady and Florida’s extremely anti-gun League of Women Voters all shuffle to the mic. Their testimony before House and Senate committees has been interesting, desperate and at times, comical. If the gun banners sent their A-team to Tallahassee and this is the best they can do, freedom will most certainly prevail.

It’s clear the gun-banners’ moves are well organized and orchestrated. Too many of their objections seemingly come from the same playbook. Keep in mind anti-gunners have phones, Skype and Zoom, too. They’re sharing information and ideas. Florida has become their latest battle template. They are throwing a lot of crap against the wall. That which sticks likely will be used in the next state they attempt to victimize.

Here are some of the lowlights of their testimony.

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Private Gun Carriers’ Self-Defense Against Public Shooters
The El Paso incident from a few days ago, the FBI 2021 statistics, and more.

I had written about this in past years, but I thought I’d update it to reflect the El Paso incident from last week. According to the El Paso Police Department (see also CNN [Andy Rose]), a confrontation between two groups of teenagers at a mall “escalated into a physical fight” and then into a 16-year-old fatally shooting a member of the other group and seriously wounding another member, as well as injuring a member of his own group. Then,

As soon as the shooting ended, the 16-year-old suspect began to run and was pointing the gun towards the direction of bystanders, including 32-year-old Emanuel Duran, a Licensed to Carry Holder. As the suspect ran towards Duran and bystanders, Duran drew his handgun and shot the suspect.

At that time, one off-duty El Paso Police Officer arrived at the area of the shooting and together with Duran rendered aid to the 16-year old suspect and the others that were injured. Investigators found that there were at least two other legally armed citizens in the area of where the shooting took place, but were not involved.

Now in this case, the suspect didn’t seem to have planned a mass shooting; he seems to have had a beef with the other teenagers. On the other hand, he appears to have been pointing his gun towards the bystanders, so it’s hard to know what would have happened. And something similar could easily have happened with an intended mass shooting as well; for an incident like that from last year, see this WCHS-TV story:

Police said a woman who was lawfully carrying a pistol shot and killed a man who began shooting at a crowd of people Wednesday night in Charleston.

Dennis Butler was killed after allegedly shooting at dozens of people attending a graduation party Wednesday …. No injuries were reported from those at the party.

Investigators said Butler was warned about speeding in the area with children present before he left. He later returned with an AR-15-style firearm and began firing into the crowd before he was shot and killed.

“Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,” Charleston Police Department Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett said.

According to WCHS-TV (Bob Aaron), Butler was a convicted felon, and was thus not legally allowed to own guns. In principle, perhaps he might still have been stopped by (say) a law requiring background checks, which would likely have stopped law-abiding sellers from selling him the gun; but it’s not clear whether someone with his criminal record would have much been stymied by that, as opposed to just buying a gun on the black market. Likewise, in El Paso, CNN reports that the gun used by the 16-year-old shooter was reported stolen.

I gathered some more examples from over the years here, and then followed up with data based on FBI reports of mass shootings in 2016 and 2017: legal civilian gun carriers tried to intervene in 6 out of 50 incidents, and apparently succeeded in 3 or 4 of them.

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Armed Defense- How Close is Too Close and How Soon is Too Soon?

When should we use our guns? We hear that question asked in every concealed carry class. That doesn’t mean we’re eager to shoot: if anything, it asks how long we can wait. There is more to this than meets the eye. Remember that most of the times when we use our firearm in armed defense we don’t press the trigger. We can cost lives if we use our firearms too early and if we present it too late. Are we so reluctant to present our firearm that we are waiting until we have no option but to shoot our attacker? Let’s look at a recent story of armed defense to see what happened and what might have happened differently.*

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The New York Times Has an Embarrassing Epiphany About ‘Gun-free Zones.’

We’ve all seen signs announcing a particular place is a “gun-free zone.” While these signs are supposed to reduce gun violence by informing would-be shooters that their firearms aren’t welcome on the site, the reality is that they are instead beacons alerting criminals to soft targets.

And it looks like the New York Times may have finally figured that out. After a murder took place in Times Square on Thursday night, the paper openly questioned why posted signs banning guns from the area didn’t stop the violence. “The shooting was the first since the creation of the expansive, signposted zone, the police said in a statement, and it immediately renewed questions about whether such a designation can truly protect the area,” the so-called paper of record reported.

“People feel emboldened to carry guns on the street,” said Tom Harris, a retired New York City police inspector and the president of the Times Square Alliance, told the Times. “A gun-free zone is not going to stop a criminal from carrying a gun.”

I have to admit I’m shocked that the New York Times acknowledged this. While I’d like to give them credit for that, the fact is the inefficacy of gun-free zones is something conservative media has been pointing out for years.

In fact, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Pulse nightclub, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Virginia Tech University were all targeted by mass shooters despite being gun-free zones — and that’s barely scratching the surface. According to a 2018 study by the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), a whopping 97.8% of mass shootings over a 68-year period occurred in “gun-free zones.”

So, while it’s great that the New York Times finally has acknowledged that gun-free zones are useless, this epiphany is decades too late.

Why are “gun safety” activists opposed to teaching real gun safety?

Even though groups like Everytown and Moms Demand Action have tried to rebrand themselves as “gun safety advocates” and not anti-gun activists, their definition of “gun safety” boils down to “don’t own a gun.” When it comes to actual training and education, the gun prohibitionists tend to demand a host of mandates for would-be gun owners; requirements that seem less designed to improve safety and more to make it a difficult and burdensome process to exercise your right to keep and bear arms.

When it comes to educating kids about how to be safe and responsible around firearms, however, anti-gunners adopt a strident abstinence-based approach; don’t even mention firearms, and certainly don’t use programs like the NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe program to teach younger kids that if they ever see a gun they should stop, don’t touch, run away, and tell a grown-up. Not because that’s bad advice, but because it’s coming from the NRA.

The anti-education ideology of the gun control lobby is on full display in Kansas, where lawmakers are debating a bill that would allow school districts to adopt a firearms safety and education curriculum for K-12 grades and self-proclaimed gun safety advocates are now demanding kids be kept intentionally ignorant, lest they be brainwashed into supporting the Second Amendment when they’re older.

Moriah Day, executive director of the Kansas State Rifle Association, said the state affiliate of the NRA requested reintroduction of the bill because establishing a unified curriculum for firearm education in public schools was “the only way to counteract the dangerous perspective many young people have from learning about firearms only through violent and careless examples on display across pop culture.”

He said the NRA approach was pragmatic because it acknowledged firearms were part of preparation for dangers of everyday life in the way advice was shared about the being safe while swimming, using electrical outlets or around fire hazards.

Johnson County resident Ephren Taylor III also addressed the Senate committee, but pointed to research indicating the Eddie Eagle program was “absolutely ineffective.” He said lobbying for firearm training in Kansas public schools was part of a campaign to build support for the NRA.

“Let’s be honest,” Taylor said. “We know why we’re choosing the NRA’s program. It’s not about gun safety. It’s about promoting the NRA to young kids so when they grow up they say, ‘Oh, Eddie Eagle. I remember him.’ You want to indoctrinate young kids into loyal NRA supporters.”

Under the Senate bill, the state Board of Education would be compelled to establish curriculum guidelines for firearm safety training conforming to programs offered by the NRA and Department of Wildlife and Parks. A local school board would make the final decision about whether to offer students instruction in gun safety.

If adopted in the 2023 legislative session, the statute would take effect July 1 and the new firearm programs could begin this fall. The Senate bill would require nearly 500,000 students in Kansas schools be afforded an opportunity to study how to responsibly deal with a gun. The anticipated annual cost of the program to the state would be $70,000.

Under the bill, students in kindergarten through grade five would exclusively have access to the NRA’s trademarked Eddie Eagle program. Students in grades six through eight would be in either the Eddie Eagle curriculum or the hunter safety program of the Department of Wildlife and Parks. The state parks department’s Hunter Education In Our Schools Program would be exclusive in grades nine through 12.

The head of the Kansas branch of the National Education Association also objects to the plan, insisting that when it comes to gun safety education schools are not the proper environment, and that any such efforts “ought to be operated outside the school day and outside school buildings.”

Given that the national NEA continues lobbying for all kinds of gun control, including bans on so-called assault weapons and criminalizing firearm transfers without a federal background check, I’m pretty sure that the Kansas chapter would object to any program that doesn’t paint gun ownership in a negative light; even something that completely avoids the political debate over gun control in favor of providing simple tips that can keep kids safe. Though school districts would have to opt-in to providing these programs, even that’s too much for the teacher’s union. If the anti-gunners had their way, the only “gun safety” lessons taught in school would be the talking points of Everytown, March for Our Lives, Brady, and the like shared by educators in their classrooms.

It looks like SB 116 will soon be headed to the Senate floor, and I expect that it will pass with wide margins. So far Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly hasn’t indicated whether she’ll sign the bill if it gets to her desk, however, so a veto-proof majority may be needed if lawmakers want to help school districts provide a real education on firearms safety when kids head back to class in the fall.

By now, we’ve heard this. Attested by people who have relatives who attend MSU, all the buildings are ‘gun free zones’, even for those with carry permits.
As always, that sure seems to work, doesn’t it?

Michigan State Shooter Found Dead.

(UPDATED 12:05 AM EDT, 2/14/23: According to multiple sources, the suspected shooter shot himself in the head as police approached. CPR was being performed but the shooter had no pulse. Sources added that a handgun was recovered.)

 

ORIGINAL STORY:

A shooting at Michigan State University gripped the news cycle on Monday evening. Reports of two separate shootings on campus broke (one at a residence hall and another in a gym), apparently carried out by the same person. Currently, at least one person is dead while five have been hospitalized.

Hours after the shootings, police held a press conference and officially released a description of the suspect. Shortly after that, the MSU Police Department released pictures as well.

 

Unfortunately, some used the immediate aftermath of the tragedy as a way to spread false information in an attempt to paint the shooter as some kind of right-wing white supremacist. I won’t link those posts, which went viral within an hour of the first shots fired, so as to not further defame the guy who is being targeted by them. Pictures of three men walking down the street were also being spread to suggest there were three shooters. That was also false.

The shooter, who is described as a short, black male with red tennis shoes, is still at large and is assumed to be armed and dangerous. RedState will provide further information as it comes in.

UPDATE:

The death toll has now risen to three.

 

Mississippi Senate passes bill allowing teachers to be armed

Legislation that would allow public and private school teachers in the Magnolia State to be armed has passed the Mississippi Senate.

On Wednesday, Senate Bill 2079, authored by Senator Angela Hill, R-Picayune, passed after receiving 39 yea votes and 13 nay votes.

The bill would establish a School Safety Guardian Training Program, which would be administered by Mississippi Homeland Security under the umbrella of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Governing bodies of school systems throughout the state would have the autonomy to determine whether or not they will participate in the program. Authorities within participating school districts would either approve or deny permission for a volunteer school employee to be involved in the program.

“If a school wants to put together an armed educator team to work with law enforcement and to be trained to basically assist in the time of an active shooter or some unfortunate situation, the framework is now in place once we get this bill through the House,” Senator Hill said on The Gallo Show.

To participate in the program, one must possess an enhanced or concealed carry permit prior to applying.

According to DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell, once qualified, those participating in the program go through a two-to-three-week training session where they are educated on tactics related to gun safety and proper interaction with the police if a crisis happened to occur.

“They would learn self-defense tactics. They would learn firearm tactics. They would learn communication with law enforcement,” Tindell said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “If we’re going to have teachers in schools with a firearm, they’re going to have the proper training and an interaction plan with law enforcement.”

Training would be conducted at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy in Pearl and led by multiple law enforcement agencies in collaboration with one another.

AR-15s are Mindbogglingly Safe
“Assault Weapon” homicides are so rare you need graphs to comprehend it.

It is taken as an obvious given by approximately half of the United States that we are in a massive epidemic of AR-15 homicides, and that something must be done about it. This given is not only completely false, the level of falseness of it is almost incomprehensible. Let’s try and understand exactly how false it is by using simple arithmetic.

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