Tag: Self Defense

Some Anti-Gunners Crying over Open Carry

A rather whiny article I found thanks to Mark Vanderberg on Facebook. I only post this because I’m in the mood to shoot down some more illogical statements…

http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-starbucks-full-of-guns-the-insanity-of-open-carry

The usual thing will be happening here, I’m going to pull out choice quotations and then destroy them. Let the carnage begin…

The real world implications of the open carry crusade is chilling. Consider:

Ooooh a bullet point list, I love these. Heck I love these so much each point is getting it’s own block quote. Let us consider the implications of…

Sipping hot chocolate with your toddler at Starbucks while a fellow patron openly displays a gun at the table next to you;

What is the implication of this? Well I’d probably go over to the guy and strike up a conversation. Who knows what terrible manner of conversation could arise between two pro-gun nut cases. Why there could be talk about the type of gun he’s carrying, the type of gun I’m carrying, politics, coffee, Hell almost anything. I’m sure the baby would have fun getting complements from another person proclaiming how cute he/she is. The only crime that could happen here is paying more for the coffee then you do for some ammunition.

Attending a church service with your entire family knowing that the fellow parishioner sitting next to you has a handgun tucked in his belt; or

What implication could we have here? Conversation with a fellow pro-gunner after the service is certainly likely. If some crazy asshole broke in with intent to kill people at the service I’m sure he wouldn’t get very far since there would be at least two law abiding citizens with guns there. You know this also sounds like a good implication.

Boarding a crowded bus with your newborn child with upwards of 5 other passengers openly carrying weapons.

Once again conversations could be abound. Also I know my newborn child would be safe from any crazy drug addict who might board the bus and try to rob or kill us. Hell this sounds like the only bus I’d want to ride on.

So what other quotes can be pulled from here? How about this one…

Unless this is the kind of world you want for you and your children, Americans’ need to pick up the phone to call state and federal lawmakers to voice outrage over the gun lobby’s extremist agenda.

Actually since this is exactly the type of world I’d want to live in I have contacted my congress critters, and told them to fight for my second amendment rights.

Oh and I love this one…

It’s ironic that today’s parents are hyper-vigilant about what their children eat, whom they hang out with and whether they have sunscreen on. Yet, in sharp contrast, there is remarkably little awareness or concern about the 280 million guns in civilian hands in our country—many of which are carried into countless public places each day where families frequent.

Maybe it’s because people aren’t concerned what law abiding citizens with guns will do. They are more concerned what criminals with guns will do. Furthermore they probably feel a bit safer knowing that there are people willing to defend themselves and others from criminals with guns. I know I do.

And finally…

After all, allowing a small group of armed gun owners — versus trained law enforcement officers — to make potentially life and death decisions about public safety in restaurants, churches, theaters and parks is a frightening prospect.

Sure I’ll bite, we can let the trained law enforcement officers make life and death decisions. After the many minutes it will take for them to arrive and many people have already been killed. Great idea, let’s let innocent people die because some people are afraid of something they’ve never used, guns.

Seriously I love these anti-gun arguments because they are so full of emotional B.S. but lack any real facts.

Your Tax Dollars at Work, PBS’s Anti-Gun Message

I found this one on the Gun Rights Radio Network forum and found it aggravating…

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06122009/watch3.html

It’s a long anti-gun rant full of the usual fear, uncertainty, and disinformation (FUD). Let’s pull some choice quotes from the article shall we…

And I’m not making this up either: after that shooting at the Holocaust Museum a conservative organization immediately offered those of us on television a chance to interview the founder of the organization Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. His expertise, it is said, is in helping people understand why gun control doesn’t belong in a civilized society. Thanks, but no thanks. And no thanks to his counterparts among Christians and Muslims who use every violent shedding of blood to promote the worship of guns.

OK be honest Bill Moyers, this isn’t about religious organizations killing each other to promote the “worship” guns (seriously find me a religion that says to worship guns). This is about not wanting to hear the other side’s arguments because you know you can’t refute them. Emotional blubbering doesn’t stand up against facts. God forbid you did something crazy like talk and listen to somebody with an opposing viewpoint.

Guns don’t kill people, they say. People kill people. True. People kill people — with guns.

This is very true, I can’t refute it in any way. People kill people with guns. We also kill each other with knives, cars, bombs, household cleaners, scissors, pencils, electricity, water, and our bare hands. Why isn’t he asking for a ban on any of these items? It might be the stereotypical example but cars kill more people than guns and Ted Kennedy’s car has killed more people than all of my guns combined.

it’s 22 times more likely to shoot a member of their family than an intruder.

That statistic fits very nicely with the one that states you are most likely to get burglarized or molested by somebody in your family. Cripes, better not interact with any of your family members!

Thank you Mr. Moyer for another emotion filled and fact free argument. It’s so nice to read these because they are so easy to tear apart. It’s even more entertaining when you realize that he’s writing this while being paid with our tax money. Wait that isn’t entertaining at all that just makes him a total asshole.

Source: http://gunrightsradio.com/forums2/index.php/topic,1927.0.html

Only in Britain

In Britain every is trained to be afraid of weapons. And not just guns but also knifes. To this effect one of the subjects of Britain has invented an anti-stab knife…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jun/14/anti-stab-knife-crime

Quoting the inventor…

“It can never be a totally safe knife, but the idea is you can’t inflict a fatal wound. Nobody could just grab one out of the kitchen drawer and kill someone.”

I guess it makes sense in a country where defending yourself is a crime. This way you can’t go to jail for defending yourself with a knife since guns are banned. Next up the anti-bludgeon hard object. Seriously that island is sunk.

When Breaking into Somebody’s Home don’t Taunt the Owner

A rather humorous story when all is said and done…

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/060109_Oakland_Man_Fatally_Shoots_Intruder

A man wakes up in the middle of the night to banging on his window. He goes to investigate and finds his neighbor breaking in using a rake. Of course the home owner tells his idiot neighbor to stop several times and eventually the neighbor responds with “What are you doing to do?”

Well he received his answer as the home owner put three rounds into him. The neighbor was reported to have stopped attempting to break in after that.

North Minneapolis Shooting

There isn’t much to go on but one person was injured and another pronounced dead at the scene…

http://wcco.com/crime/north.minneapolis.shooting.2.1041426.html

This should drive home the fact that you aren’t safe even in your own home. This is why I carry on my person all day, every day. In fact my gun is sitting in my hop holster as I type this from my recliner.

Update

A little more information from The Red Star…

http://www.startribune.com/local/47877422.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Defense Starts with Awareness

OK it’s story time. I went for a walk this evening as I often do. There are some very nice wooded trails near my apartment, which are pretty secluded. Generally I only meet three or four people on an hour long walk. Today was the same thing, and it was today I really noticed a bad trend.

The most important part of self defense is awareness. You should always been aware of your surroundings when you are out and about. I don’t care if you’re in the local grocery store or on a walk, you should be alert to what is around you. You have a much better chance of defending yourself if you see the threat coming first.

This is not what I saw people doing on the trail. Two of the four people I met were yapping on their cell phones. They had no idea I was coming, nor what was around them. They were off in their own little world. The third person I met was listening to his iPod so loudly that I could make out the music when I was on the opposite side of the trail. The four person was an elderly woman out for a walk, she’s old and probably figures she has nothing to live for, but she was the most alert of the four.

The reason I bring this up is simple, the three people walking around and no paying attention are ripe targets for thugs. For instance if I had wanted to do bodily harm to them I could have easily walked right up behind them and they would have never noticed until it was too late. At that point I’d be in control and they would no be able to effectively defend themselves. Because awareness is so important Jeff Cooper came up with a color code system dealing with just this subject. It is as follows…

White – Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be “Oh my God! This can’t be happening to me.”

Yellow – Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that “today could be the day I may have to defend myself.” You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that “I may have to SHOOT today.” You don’t have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don’t know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to “Watch your six.” (In aviation 12 o’clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft’s nose. Six o’clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are “taking in” surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, “I might have to shoot.”

Orange – Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has gotten your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to “I may have to shoot HIM today.” In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: “If that goblin does ‘x’, I will need to stop him.” Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow. Cooper described this as “I might have to shoot HIM,” referring to the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status.

Red – Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. If “X” happens I will shoot that person.

The three people that were not paying attention were in condition white. When out and about you should always been in condition yellow. Being alert doesn’t even take much. Just be actively listening, watching, and in general paying attention. Seriously what is so important that you need to be on the phone while your out for a walk? Why do you have to be listening to music? Sure both of these things are nice distractions but neither is worth your safety.

When I say this many people often call me paranoid and make up statistics (1 in a million is the usual one) of how unlikely it is that you will be attacked. Well it’s true you have a fairly small chance of being attacked but it’s a chance, and a very possible one. I’d rather be paranoid and alive that oblivious and dead.

Some people jokingly refer to this state of denial as condition rose. These people see the world through rose colored lenses. As far as they are concerned nothing could possible happen to them. These are the people most vulnerable to attacks. They are the ones criminals most want to prey on. Personally I don’t want to be one of these people, hence I pay attention when I’m out and about. And you should do. Remember that phone call can wait until you get somewhere secure.

Wow Some Peoples’ Ignorance Scares Me

So I was poking around on Kotaku this early morning and came across the following story…

http://kotaku.com/5285481/video-game-argument-ends-in-accidental-death

The story itself is tragic since a child ended up shooting his sibling with a shotgun. Although rare these tragedies happen and when they do the anti-gunners run in and jump around in the blood and exploiting the tragedy to meet their own desires. I sometimes wonder if the people in charge of the Brady Bunch jump up and down for joy whenever they hear about a child shooting another one.

But I’m digressing again. The part that scared me most about this story is the comments section. There are a lot of ignorant people out there and being I’m active in the gun community I don’t see them all that often (granted many of my friends are liberal and strongly against guns but they know better than to try and argue it with me).

From a semi-random sampling we have this quote by a user named Quaro…

people who break into homes don’t break in them so they can kill. they do it to steal. so the heck with it let them take what they want, the insurance company gives it’s value back to me, and I report the crime to the police, they find evidence, they catch him end of story.

Tell that to college students whom had two armed thugs break into their home separating the men from the women with the intent to rape the women and kill all of the student…

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/19365762/detail.html

Those thugs certainly didn’t come in to just steal some stuff. They came in with intent to rape and murder. If one of the students didn’t have a gun none of them would probably be alive today. But that’s not all this commenter had to say…

besides if you care enough for your safety to buy a gun, how about installing a security system????

So a security system will allow the police to teleport to your location instantly? Wait it won’t? Well then you still have to wait for the police to arrive which usually takes slightly longer then killing somebody does. The sad fact is the police can’t be everywhere and they can’t protect everybody. Lord knows they do their best but they, like us, are only human. Meanwhile that gun is within reach and ready to be used in the defense of your life.

I’ll also pick a second quote from my semi-random sampling. This is one by a user named OkayOctane…

Best thing to do in a robbery? Barricade yourself in your room, and let them KNOW you’re calling the police. I guess this is where you tell me that only pussies hide, but that’s the problem..you don’t need to be a hero, or have this bravado shit going on. Your TV is replaceable, let them freaking take it.

Yes I’m sure the criminal will instantly stop doing anything illegal once you yell you are calling the police. The criminals know just as well as you do that the police won’t arrive for a while. But don’t get me wrong locking yourself in a room is a good idea during a home invasion, preferably a room where you can cover the entrance with a shotgun so if the invader tries to come on in you can stop them.

Finally the concept of just letting the thief have your stuff is rather stupid to me. I don’t care about my stuff but I do care that the criminal feels they were able to find an easy target. I want anybody who breaks into my place to leave empty handed and scared shitless. Why? Because they won’t be so likely to return. If they know I’m armed and willing to defend myself they crook will probably try a different house next time.

The difference between people who proclaim the right idea is to just give up and do whatever a criminal says and a person who is willing to defend themselves is a matter of personal responsibility. The sheep (person willing to surrender) doesn’t want to take any responsibility. By just giving into the criminal’s demands they aren’t responsible for what happens afterwards, it’s the criminal’s fault. If they live they can justify everything as the criminal’s fault. Meanwhile I, like most gun owners, am not afraid of taking responsibility for my life. I don’t want to be sitting in my hallway stabbed thinking what a bastard that thug was. I want the criminal to be laying in the hallway with a bullet through him not thinking anything at all. I want to be alive and I’m willing to take responsibility for my own life.

The bottom line is your life, and the lives of your loved ones, are the most precious things on this planet. You shouldn’t expect other people to take responsibility for your most precious possession. Realize that in order to be entitled to live you need to be willing to fight for it. Survival of the fittest is how the entire planet works. There are wolves who prey on the sheep but then there are sheepdogs who can fight off the wolves. I personally am a sheepdog and I assume most of my readers are as well.

Somebody Check the Temperature in Hell

I think it’s getting cold in the land of the damned. Via the Gun Rights Radio Network forum I found this story. An ABC news channel posted this story about most shooting occurring in gun free zones…

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/When-Seconds-Count-Stopping-Active-Killers/_yls0jTxAkK8QJR1NKbePA.cspx

From the surprising article…

Based on data from the SEALE study, an analysis by TDI, and our own painstaking research, we are able to say definitively that most “active killer” shootings have occurred in so-called “gun free” zones. The experts who say they may be “invitations” are also John Benner and Ron Borsch who have six decades of law enforcement experience and training between them.

I never thought I’d see something like this on an ABC page but here it is. This article also has the best quote in a liberal media site I’ve seen in ages…

As journalists, we are not interested in entering into the heated debate over gun control. We are, however, interested in reporting the facts. In this story, the facts point to the active shooters ignoring gun prohibitions and perhaps selecting those locations because they are “soft targets” where no resistance would be found.

When did they get interested in reporting facts instead of the usual anti-gunner rhetoric they normally spew? Don’t get me wrong if they decide to start posting real news accurately instead of drumming up fear and hysteria I’m all for it. Hopefully this becomes a more common thing.

Source: http://gunrightsradio.com/forums2/index.php/topic,1913.0.html

New Hampshire Might Hike Non-Resident Carry Permits

Rather depressing news here…

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=4955

New Hampshire has a budget proposal that will increase the price of their non-resident carry permits from $20.00 to $100.00. Speaking as a man with one of these permits I find this sad since one of the things I like about the permit was the price and the fact their permit approval system wasn’t nearly as backed up as everybody else’s. I hope this item gets the axe from the budget but I’m doubting it will.

More Stupidity from Across the Pond

Two stories of idiocy coming from The Commonwealth of Britain (also known as Oceania). First off we have a story from Bruce Schneier’s own blog…

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/4425941.East_Lancashire_youngsters_see_film_on_
terrorism_danger/

The Party is showing videos to children aged at 10 and 11 years. From the article…

More than 2,000 10 and 11-year-olds will see a short film, which urges them to tell the police, their parents or a teacher if they hear anyone expressing extremist views.

This is stupid on enough levels to recreate Dante’s Inferno. First of all you know “extremist views” are anything The Party doesn’t agree with. I’m sure most people who read this blog would fall under this category, I know I do.

The terrorism message is also illustrated with a re-telling of the story of Guy Fawkes, saying that his strong views began forming when he was at school in York. It has been designed to deliver the message of fighting terrorism in [an] accessible way for children.

It’s funny I know Britain celebrates Guy Fawke’s Day. It’s celebrating by lighting bonfires (at least it was, I know many cities have outlawed bonfires). But now The Party is saying he’s an example of terrorism. I’m sure us Americans are terrorists two since we broke away from Oceania long ago.

Source: http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/4425941.East_Lancashire_youngsters_see_film_on_
terrorism_danger/

But that’s not all ladies and gentlemen. From Say Uncle we have another story involving Oceania’s stupidity…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/5310445/Golfers-arrested-after-fighting-off-gang-attempting-to-steal-clubs.html

In the story some teenagers wielding planks of wood (I thought no violent crime could happen once you took away guns) tried to rob several people playing golf. Apparently they didn’t realize that golf clubs are equally effective at bludgeoning people as wood planks. The golfers defended themselves as they should have the right to.

Being this is across the pond though they were arrested for defending themselves. And of course the golden quote…

Mr Walden said: “I cannot say who was at fault and who was not at fault yesterday.

Maybe I can tell you what happened, some punk kids thought they saw some easy targets, they were wrong. Man I hope the people of Oceania rebel sooner rather then later.

Source: http://www.saysuncle.com/2009/06/09/where-defense-is-outlawed/