Happy Halloween!

Have a fun & safe Halloween!

WA: Students Arm Themselves

After being attacked while defenseless some University of Washington students decided to get concealed carry permits and take responsibility for their own safety. I commend them for taking responsibility for their own safety, but I have a few safety tips for them:

1. I can't really recommend "walking around as bait, fishing for robbers," although if a thug is unlucky enough to attack a student prepared to defend him or herself, too bad for the thug, I'm not going to cry for him or her.
   
2. Don't sweep your friend (or anything else you'd prefer not to destroy) with the muzzle of your gun.
3. Buy a holster, stashing your gun in the front of your pants fails to protect the trigger & is not a secure way to carry it.

Obamacare: Hundreds of Billions in New Taxes

Just for Obama, here's the definition of a tax: "a charge, usually of money, imposed by legislative or other public authority upon persons or property for public purposes."

So yes, forcing everyone to buy insurance for the "public good" is a tax. So much for his promise not to increase any taxes on anyone making less than $250,000.00, although to be honest, I can't say that I ever believed him.



While I'm on the topic of Obama, you should definitely check out this documentary when you have a free moment.

Mike Rogers on Health Care Reform

Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan lays out a few of the issues with the various versions of Health Care Reform Legislation being considered:

MN: Adopt a Highway Program

A group named Minnesota Carry Permit Holders found an excellent way to spread good will while removing trash from the roadside via the Adopt a Highway Program. In addition to promoting good will & beautifying the roadway during their cleanup event yesterday their adopted section of the highway was probably the safest stretch of the road in the entire State.

Arizona has an Adopt a Highway Program as well, I'd love to see my local gun rights groups adopt a section of Arizona Highways.

OH: He Attempted to Rob the Wrong Woman

In Columbus Ohio A burglar entered a motel room, brandished a gun & began to rob a group of people. One of the women in the group (70 years old but not helpless) pulled out her handgun & shot him in self defense. The suspect fled, but was found dead in the parking lot when the Police arrived five minutes later. Police identified the robbery suspect as 25 year old Wayne M. Winston, and stated that the woman probably saved the lives of those in the room with her. Another happy ending once again proving that when seconds count, the Police are minutes away. We are each responsible for the safety of ourselves & those we love.

Issues with May Issue

I've discussed May Issue Problems in the past. Here is another viewpoint on the issues of May Issue by David Rittgers.

May Issue Concealed Carry statutes were originally set up to allow a Sheriff or Police Chief to deny permit applications without being required to specify a reason, allowing the Sheriff to discriminate against applicants however he or she sees fit based on ethnicity, income, or place of residence. It is high time we complete the ongoing process of getting rid of such discriminatory and abusive may issue laws in the few remaining States that have them.

View the History of States that have upgarded their laws from discriminatory May Issue laws to Shall Issue laws.

US Debt Clock

Our Legislators: Burying our children under more US Debt every second of every day.

Related: National Debt Road Trip @ 174 MPH.

AZCDL Newsletter

The AZCDL 2009 Issue 4 Newsletter is available online. It includes a summary of the new firearms related legislation that was signed into law this year as well as the voting records of your Arizona representatives & Senator. Check to see how yours did, I know all 3 of mine from District 4 passed this test with perfect scores.

You may also be interested in viewing the complete newsletter archive. If you live in Arizona & are not yet a member of AZCDL you should join in.

NIH Funding Studies on Health Effects of Gun Ownership

The only person who will experience a health effect from my gun ownership would be a thug attacking my family. Congress told the CDC "No" to such studies a decade ago. Now the NIH is taking it up once again wasting our tax dollars. Glenn Beck recently discussed this issue on his program:

Ammo Sphere

Ammo Sphere has contacted me to offer my blog readers a 5% discount on any ammunition orders from their online store. When checking out use the promotional coupon code: dustin

After you receive your order be sure to post a comment here to share your experience with their customer service.

WI: 2nd Amendment TEA Party

It appears to me that the Second Amendment TEA Party in Hudson, Wisconsin went well. I wish I could have been there myself but it's a rather lengthy drive from my front door.

Related: Hope for gun owners in Illinois and Wisconsin.

6 Year Old Suspended For Mess Kit Utensil

In another case of Zero Tolerance=Zero Thought, Zachary Christie, a 6 year old cub scout excited to bring his mess kit fork/spoon/knife tool to school to utilize while eating his lunch was suspended for having brought a weapon. I'm guessing a teen with a board would be more of a danger than this 6 year old with his mess kit eating utensil, but many school administrators don't like to use reasoned thought these days.

Self Defense: Caught Unaware

Eric Puryear shares some examples of self defense by people caught by surprise by attackers. One free piece of advice I have for anyone interested: don't open your door to anyone if you're not armed. I put my gun on in the morning when I put my pants on, and I never open the door without my pants. Additionally, don't open your door at all to a stranger - communicate through the door & tell him or her to leave the package on the doorstep. If you end up being attacked at the door it is much quicker to retrieve your handgun from the holster you're already wearing than it is to run to your bedroom.

The 5th Amendment: Don't Talk to the Police!

I don't mean any disrespect to the Police who are just performing their job to gather information. Nevertheless, Profess0r James Duane, Regent Law School Professor, and former defense attorney, explains quite succinctly why you should never agree to give any Statement to the Police before working with your lawyer for your own protection. Nothing you say to the Police can be used to protect you (it would be thrown out in court as hearsay), but everything you say can & will be used against you.



Officer George Bruch agrees:



H/T to my friend George Dean at TacTrain.

Map of Minimum Age to Carry Concealed, State by State

(See map in full size)

Has anyone ever wondered why we trust young adults 18 and older to get married, sign legal contracts, go to battle on behalf of our Country utilizing powerful weapons and tools such as helicopters, tanks, & rocket launchers, yet in all but 13 States we don't trust the very same young adults to defend themselves with a concealed handgun while conducting their business here at home? I have. I certainly would like my daughter to not be denied the right to fight off a rapist with a concealed weapon if she were to be attacked while walking home or to her car after her college class is dismissed or while she walks down any sidewalk.

Before I go on, can I just ask my friends in Missouri, TWENTY THREE? Really? Are you kidding me? OK, I just had to get that off my chest.

Don't even get me started on all of the so-called "Gun Free Zones" that our legislators have created in many of our States, but for anyone interested there is a map of States that attempt to create gun free zones at colleges (more at concealedcampus.org) as well as a map of States that attempt to create gun free zones in restaurants that happen to serve alcohol. I say "attempt to create" because there are no metal detectors or armed guards so the only folks disarmed in such target rich victim zones are the law abiding victims.

I mentioned my thoughts on the subject of the current minimum age to defend oneself with a concealed weapon here in Arizona to Senator Harper & he asked me how Arizona compares with the rest of our Country. I did a search on the Internet for such a map, and although I did find a map for minimum age to carry openly on opencarry.org, I didn't manage to find a map for minimum age to carry concealed. As a result I decided to make one myself by going through the details for all of the States on handgunlaw.us. Please take a look at your State to compare with my map & let me know if I've made any errors so that I can make any required corrections.

As far as future legislative changes I'd like to see made here in Arizona, I'd like to see the minimum age to defend oneself with a concealed weapon lowered to a minimum of 18, and I'd like to see defenseless victim school & restaurant zones go away altogether. I'd also like to see restaurant carry in Arizona expanded to include all law abiding citizens, not just those with a CCW permit. Arizona is currently the only State in the Union to require us to carry concealed while in such restaurants (although to be fair there are eight States that forbid open carry altogether, some of which do not forbid carry in restaurants). Last but not least, I'd LOVE to get Constitutional Carry here in Arizona.

To Summarize my map, one State, Missouri sets the minimum age at 23 years old to carry concealed, thirty-four States plus DC set the minimum age at 21, eleven States set the minimum age at 18, two States set the minimum age at 16, and two States forbid concealed carry altogether.

Minimum age to carry concealed:

• 23: MO
• 21: AL, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV
• 18: CA, DE, IA, IN, MD, ME, MT, ND, SD, VT, WY
• 16: AK, NH
• No concealed carry at all: IL, WI

Note: None of this information or map is to be construed as legal advice. You are responsible to verify the laws in your own State.

H/T to the Map Maker Utility, opencarry.org, & handgunlaw.us. Be sure to check out my link to travel tools useful when you need to plan your carry methods while traveling.

Babes with Bullets

Babes with Bullets runs shooting sports training camps for women. They also have a free introductory training video on handgun terminology & general gun safety rules. You can watch some of the fun on the Babes with Bullets youtube channel, or just sign up to have your own fun.

Update 1: Here's a Babes with Bullets photo album as well as the Babes with Bullets pilot video that you might enjoy.