Category: Carrying / Self-Defense

Tam says you need to get a better holster.  I particularly love this part:

Nothin’ but Fobus and those godawful clip-on nylon sausage sacks with the spare magazine pouch sewn on the front of the holster.

The reason I think that’s funny is because Bitter has one of those.  When I first saw it, I cringed.  I’ve offered to buy her a better one, but holster carry doesn’t really work too well for her.  At some point I need to get her a new carry purse.  The one she has now works, but the draw from it is a bit awkward.  If you can’t draw the gun smoothly and quickly, I’m not sure there’s too much advantage to carrying.

I’m normally the designated shooter, carrying a Glock 19 at 4:00 in a Com-Tac Infidel holster.  Of course, I know Tam isn’t too much of a fan of plastic guns, the europellet, or plastic holsters, so I doubt I’m ranking much higher than the open carry heretics on the Tam Approval Meter with that one :)

CBS News is surprised to find that in most states, it’s legal to carry a firearm in the non-sterile areas of most of our nation’s airports:

An Associated Press survey of the 20 busiest U.S. airports found that seven of them – Philadelphia, Detroit, Phoenix, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and San Francisco – let people with gun permits carry firearms in the general public areas of the terminal.

Some anti-terrorism experts say that is a glaring security loophole that could endanger airport workers, passengers and people waiting to pick them up or see them off. Some suggest that allowing guns in terminals is practically asking for them to be smuggled aboard a plane.

It’s not a security loophole.  The magnetometers and X-ray machines at the security checkpoint are the only way to actually make sure someone isn’t armed.  You can make a rule that says you can’t, but guess what?  The only people who are going to obey it are people like me who have a license to carry.  The terrorists are going to do what terrorists do.  The only way to make the entire airport truly sterile is to screen anyone coming in or out.

It’s pretty clear what the media is doing here: raising awareness of the issue, so that under an Obama administration, which they are doing everything in their power to elect, this can be one of the many subtle ways to stick it to gun owners.  Remember that Obama has supported a nationwide ban on concealed carry, whether you have a license to do so or not.  This would be a no brainer for him.

Today my license from the Spokane Police Department expired.  Since Washington State requires that you apply or renew in person, I’m not going to renew.  I originally sought a Washington State license because they had reciprocity with Virginia, but I never actually used it.  Not long after, Virginia signed a reciprocity agreement with Pennsylvania, which made it a moot point.  It does get me Washington State, and as much as it sucks to lose a state, I’m not flying out to Spokane to renew a license for a state I haven’t visited since I got the license.  There’s always a Utah license if I really want Washington State.

Looks like the open carry soccer mom got her license to carry reinstated:

Judge Robert Eby said even though the law required him to give her the permit back, he questioned whether Hain showed good judgment by ignoring other parents’ safety concerns.

Hain said she’s satisfied with the result and expects she’ll be back on the sidelines with her gun in the future.

Pennsylvania remains a shall-issue state.  The sheriffs can’t revoke licenses just because you do something that makes them uncomfortable.

One is a smear piece on the group and their activities, and the other is pretty good.  Good on the Virginia-Pilot for blancing out the viewpoints.  I do have to wonder whether their editorial board believe that a criminal or mass killer would choose to carry the instrument of his crime out in the open where everyone could see it, including law enforcement.

The Firearms Blog weighs in with his choices.  RAH would appear to be our resident expert on the keeping and bearing of arms on the high seas, and on what will and won’t get you into trouble when you enter territorial waters or ports.  Avoidance seems to be the preferred method of dealing with pirates.  That’s pretty much the right strategy for any armed confrontation.  I like the idea of a fake RPG, but you’d be awfully screwed if the pirates produce something that looks similar, only isn’t fake.

In Norfolk, where it’s apparently hazardous to carry while black, things are starting to get nastier:

The 24-year-old Hampton resident said police told him to leave because he had a gun. Moore said he refused because the law allows him to display a weapon in public places. He said he was handcuffed, charged and led out of the building.

Norfolk police spokesman Officer Chris Amos confirmed that a summons was issued but declined to comment further.

Waterside receives city funding but is officially owned by a private entity, Waterside Associates, whose partners include the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, said NRHA assistant executive director John Kownack. Its policy prohibits weapons, yet weapons are not included on a list of prohibitions posted at Waterside’s entrances, he added.

I’m going to guess they are charging him with criminal tresspass.  I think most malls tend to be posted in the fine print.  It’s always good advice that unless you’re absolutly positively sure you’re in a public place, not a public accomodation, but a place owned by the public, or a public right-of-way, to comply with an order to leave if you’re asked.

But the Norfolk Police are pretty clearly out to make sure that no one in their city can exercise their right unharassed.  They’ve already settled once, no doubt other lawsuits will, and should be forthcoming.

But look at the difference in activism in Virginia vs. some of the things I’ve seen here.  You have people who were going about their business, not looking for trouble.  Trouble found them.  It will happen.  Now you have a pretty clear example of the police targeting young black men carrying guns lawfully.  The racial component will help with public sympathy, because while people might not understand why someone would carry a gun, most of the public believes racial discrimination is wrong.  And you’ll notice Phil Van Cleave playing that angle:

“I don’t see a conspiracy here – I see more ineptness,” he said. “And there may well be prejudice too.”

Moore is black. Van Cleave and most of the others are white.

Moore said a friend who was with him at Waterside also was carrying a gun and also had challenged police when asked to leave. He said his friend, who is white, was not charged.

That’s going to raise some questions in the public’s mind.  VCDL is doing alright here, if you ask me.

These are the kind of idiots that will ruin it for everyone.  If he was arrested for aggrevated assault before this instance, his LTCF was null and void.  The Delaware County Sheriff should have issued a revocation notice.  Even if he didn’t, it doesn’t change the fact that he was no longer qualified to carry a firearm on his license.

Battling pirates on the high seas:

The large wooden boat didn’t show on the radar, which was unsettling. He couldn’t reach the crew on the radio, which was scary. The large boat flew no flags and was closing in, so Zac took emergency measures.

The Thousand Oaks sailor started the engine to help him evade whom he was increasingly sure were evil people. He prepared to hit the distress button, which would pinpoint his position in case of a collision. He called his parents from a satellite phone and gave them his position.

“I got my gun and waited,” Zac wrote in his blog. “We passed a couple of hundred yards apart and they stopped dead in my wake.

When guns are outlawed, only priates will have guns.