Category: Carrying / Self-Defense

Extrano’s Alley has an account of a homeowner who is facing charges for taking the knife from a home invader and then stabbing him with it. Instapundit is covering this too, and a reader there notes, “US gun rights groups should raise money (and publicity, and their own profile) to defend our innocent cousins across the pond.” I’m honestly not sure how much that would help. Prosecutors across the pond wouldn’t be taking these cases to trial if they weren’t pretty sure of a jury willing to convict. It’s a cultural issue, and I’m not sure American groups are going to be able to change that. I think that kind of change has to come from within.

National Reciprocity is seriously disturbing the powers that be. One of the things I use to determine whether we’re fighting for something that matters is the people it’s pissing off. So far HR822 is making the grade on that count.

One of the first memes is this butchers states rights. That would be true if this bill were based solely on the commerce power of Congress, but it is largely based on Congress’ 14th Amendment power to pass legislation to protect Constitutional rights. There is a very strong case to be made that post Heller and McDonald, Congress has a power to protect the right to bear arms. There is also a case to be made on Congress’ power to legislate Full Faith and Credit.

It would also seem now that Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey represents law enforcement in its entirety. Since Philadelphia is leading the charge in Pennsylvania to revoke or modify our reciprocity agreement with Florida in Pennsylvania, he was invited to testify against our Constitutional rights before Congress.

One of our opponents arguments is that most licenses to carry are simple documents that are easy to forge. This is true. The reason is because a concealed carry license is not meant to be used for identification, which is what the state drivers’ license is for. Under this bill, you’d be required to carry identification in addition to your license to carry. Ramsey testified that a person that the lack of standards is a problem. Our opponents are going to push to get some federal standards in the bill in an attempt to scuttle it.

Truth is, if there are federal standards, it becomes a more dubious exercise of federal power. The 14th Amendment only allows you to protect a right, and then only to the agree the right is recognized by the Courts, and the Full Faith and Credit clause is arguably also limited. This bill only forces states to recognized each other’s permits, and not much more. It also stipulates the person had to be eligible to possess firearms under federal law.

New Hampshire is now a castle doctrine state, thanks to the 251 to 111 vote in the House. The Senate voted earlier to override by 17 to 7. It becomes law despite the veto from the Governor.

Miguel has a very good way of looking at the deterrent factor.

From Rob Pincus:

I think Open Carry is a poor choice in populated areas when you have other options (CCW) to be armed for personal protection. I vehemently believe that you should NOT carry a gun for political reasons, but solely as a means of defense.

Snarkybytes doesn’t like Pincus’s statement at all. Uncle is somewhere in the middle. I’m not willing to say that carrying for a political purpose is wrong. My message has generally been to just be smart about how you go about it. That only part of Rob Pincus’ statement I really agree with is that OC is a poor choice in populated areas looking at it strictly from a tactical point of view, unless you’re carrying in a holster with proper retention and have had some level of retention training. That’s not, IMHO, a justification for banning the practice, but personally, it’s not something I’d be comfortable doing absent retention training.

Here’s my real problem with suggesting that carrying for political purposes is wrong. It could end up being that the Supreme Court rules that open carry is constitutionally protected, but not concealed carry. There are a few state right to keep and bear arms cases that mirror this position. While I think it’s probably more likely the Court will just protect carry, and leave to the states the manner in which they choose to regulate the practice, there is a chance they could adopt the position that only open carry is protected activity, and that as long as it’s allowed, the states can ban concealed carry.

If that’s the case, we’re going to need people to carry for political reasons, while state and local authorities in hostile jurisdictions are taught a lesson in exactly what “right” entails. Those early individuals are going to be carrying more for political reasons than reasons of self-protection. It’s hard for me to see, however, why that would be wrong.

I did not cover the original incident, where a man shot a grizzly bear that was on his property. Looks like federal prosecutors have agreed to let him pay a 1000 dollar civil penalty in exchange for dropping the more serious criminal charges. I’m sure, after the publicity this case has brought, the U.S. Attorney could be pretty confident it would be tough to find a jury that would convict. I sure as hell wouldn’t.

A Temple student got into a gunfight with two would be armed robbers:

Sophomore Robert Eells, 21, of Chalfont, Bucks County, was sitting with at least one friend in front of their home in the 2300 block of North 12th Street shortly before 2 a.m. when three assailants approached and demanded money.

When Eells failed to comply, the assailants opened fire, police said. Eells, struck in the stomach, fired a couple of rounds toward the would-be robbers, wounding one suspect, a 15-year-old boy, in the chest and a leg.

So not only did he act appropriately, but continued the fight even after being shot. Two people were shot in the confrontation, and the guy landed those hits while being shot himself. Campus carry is not a crime in Pennsylvania, but the schools are free to set policy. Sounds like this happened off campus, so the school shouldn’t have anything to say. But this is one anecdotal tale that suggests college students are plenty responsible to exercise their right to bear arms. The police spokesperson said the student is not likely to face charges, and the two robbers are being charged with simple assault, robbery, and attempted murder.

The Firearms Blog has a post that shows the lengths some people will go to in order to secure their firearms in inconspicuous places. I think if you’re that worried, the easier solution is to just carry it around with you. There’s a gun in every room that I’m in too, because I generally keep the Kel-Tec holstered in-pocket, even around the house. It’s a good idea, even if you aren’t that paranoid,  because you want to remain conditioned not to stuff other objects into the gun pocket. The other issue I have with the stash method is, in homes I’ve seen that have been broken into, they’ve been ransacked. They are likely going to find your stashed guns, and then just steal the cases. They can break into the cases somewhere else at their leisure.

We have a few quick opens that we don’t currently use. I think quick opens are ideal for childproofing your self-defense guns, and we don’t have children. To prevent theft, a floor safe is the best option.