Free Republic

Wisconsin concealed carry permits topped 240,000 in 2014, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.  From the jsonline.com: Nearly 34,000 were issued permits, raising the total number in Wisconsin to 242,488, according to an annual report from the Department of Justice. The permits have been a success by most observers standards, following the pattern in other states.  The first permits were issued late in 2011.  Only one person with a permit has been convicted of a homicide since that time.   Wisconsin has an adult population (21 or over) of about 4.3 million.   Thus, people with permits are about...

For any Texans torn between Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz as likely presidential candidates, the state’s former governor argued Thursday that executive experience matters. In a wide-ranging interview with The Texas Tribune and The Washington Post, Perry discussed international, presidential and Texas politics. Asked about what separates him from Cruz, Perry never mentioned his potential rival by name. Instead, he downplayed Senate experience and alluded to the fact that Cruz’s tenure in office is the same as then-Sen. Barack Obama's when he ran for president in 2008. “It’s one of the selling points, if you will, to the...

Mass defiance of the new permit process is another monkey wrench tossed in the works.A New York lawman is winning plaudits from gun owners over his stance on firearm regulation—he wants less of it. Fulton County Sheriff Thomas J. Lorey is already known as a supporter of the Second Amendment and a member of the Oath Keepers, an organization of military personnel and police officers who vow to refuse unconstitutional orders. Despite the Empire State's fame as a jurisdiction unfriendly to private gun ownership—or, really, any activity beyind the reach of government officials—Lorey isn't alone in his views. The New...

BRANDON — Clarence Daniels had just crossed the threshold of Walmart's front doors on Tuesday, in search of coffee creamer for his wife, when the gun in hip holster gave a well-intentioned vigilante the idea he was up to something more sinister.

The barber shop seems to be behind the red neon sign in the upper story. Armed robbery requires a large number of disarmed victims.  If a significant number of potential victims are armed, armed robbery becomes a suicide mission.  Large numbers of violent criminals die young already.   It is one of the reasons that the life expectancy for black men is four years lower than for white men.   As more law abiding black people learn that they can trust the process, can obtain a concealed carry permit, and can go about legally armed without being abused by the police,...

People who go about legally armed are taught to avoid conflict and confrontation.   As people grow older, and hopefully, wiser, they become better practiced at avoiding conflict.   Age exacts its toll in exchange.  Nearly everyone gets slower; slower reflexes, balance deteriorates, you cannot run as fast.   Even though I have maintained a disciplined aerobic program, I am nowhere near as fast as I was only a dozen years ago.  Age also makes a person more attractive as a potential victim.   If an assailant is aggressive, and faster than you, for even a short sprint, running is not an option. ...

Fargo, North Dakota has not been a hotbed of violent crime.  That may have changed with the oil boom that has been going on for the past decade.  It appears that a number of transients and homeless people have found their way to the city.   Last Monday, at noon, it was just below zero with a 10 mph wind.  It was not a good time to be outdoors.    To be knocked unconscious and left to lay exposed could have been fatal. Fortunately for the victim in this crime, a concealed carry permit holder witnessed enough of the assault and...

CINCINNATI — Police were studying mall surveillance video Tuesday in their investigation of the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old Ohio boy authorities say tried to rob a shopper in his quest to obtain popular, limited-edition athletic shoes. Miami Township police said a man with a concealed weapon permit fired his gun after he and another man were accosted Saturday morning by three teens on a sidewalk outside the Dayton Mall. Police said one teen had showed a gun. Jawaad Jabbar of Middletown died a short time later of a gunshot wound to his torso, authorities said.

When Ellie Spivey and her 30-year-old son left Lakewood Church on Wednesday night, they had nothing but positive thoughts. They have attended the church on the Southwest Freeway for 13 months since the Spivey family moved to Houston from Florida. “I noticed that he had a gun and it was right here," said Russ Spivey. He and his mom were getting into their Jeep parked in a parking lot on the south side of the Southwest Freeway at Edloe Street. He told Local 2, “There was a black weapon, a gun pointed at my mother and she was fighting for...

No discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of open and concealed carry used to be complete without the obligatory theory that open carry was more dangerous.  It was asserted that a criminal will target the open carrier because they are armed.   Here is an example from freerepublic: Why would anyone want the bad guy to shoot him first? Fortunately, the gun culture is becoming educated in the matter.   People now realize that open carry promotes tactical deterrence.  There have been two known instances where open carriers have been targeted, but they are very rare.  The other side of...

I may have to start a new category: Warning shots that work.  I have routinely advised students against "warning shots" with the usual caveats; the bullet has to go somewhere, innocents may be hit, and  a round  is wasted that you might need.   Many, especially on the Internet have claimed that a warning shot may be considered as evidence that you were not serious.  I think that is unlikely.  There is at least one prosecutor who thinks that it shows restraint. Gunfire has been used as a means of signaling and communications as long as there have been...

According to The Washington Times, the Ohio Senate is considering legislation that reduces gun control by easing restrictions on concealed carry weapons permits (CCWs). The new legislation would allow Ohioans to acquire a CCW in eight hours instead of twelve and would open the door for active military to carry concealed without going through the permit process.

If you follow the thread, you`ll find a story about familial trash being ticked at their little Thuggie Brown being shot, but he survived five hits! What`s your best compromise between concealment versus stopping power. And how would climate effect your choice?

This appears to be another politically motivated trial.  The armed citizen was originally found to have been acting in self defense by the police who investigated the situation.  He was confronted by two men, one with a knife, aged 25 and 26.  There was another witness in their car.  The shooter was 43 and had a valid concealed carry permit.   The family of the attacker who was shot protested, and a prosecutor convinced a grand jury to indict the shooter, two months after the event.  From wlwt.com: CINCINNATI —A man accused of shooting another driver in a road...

Many people have made the observation that it is the weapon that you have with you that matters.   A .22 that you have beats a .45 that you left at home.   It is one of the reasons the tiny pocket .380s like the KelTec 738 and the Ruger LCP are so popular. I do not know what make and model the woman in Kentucky was carrying when she returned home.  What matters is that she had it when she confronted the two suspects who were looting her residence.   One of them had a pistol; one of...

Tyerre Allan was only 25 years old, and he just got out of jail for a robbery that was done years ago. Police say he was already a suspect in other crimes. From wishtv.com: Police later identified the suspect as 25-year-old Tyerre Allen of Indianapolis. He was also identified by IMPD detectives as a suspect in other robberies in the Indianapolis area. There were five or six customers in the Indiana Cash America Pawn shop, as well as 3-4 employees.  It appears that Tyerre, just out of jail, tried to ply his trade.  You would think he would realize the dangers of...

As mothers in black urban areas learn that they have the right to be armed, and to protect their children and themselves, the support for gun control will continue to drop.   It was only a few years ago that police would simply confiscate any gun that they came across in a black urban area.  I heard of this practice from students and former police officers.  Many commentators have noted that the original purpose of gun control was to disarm blacks.   Building on this disregard for the second amendment, property rights, and the rule of law, "progressive" politicians pushed to...

California Poll: Do you think self-defense is good enough cause to be issued a concealed weapons permit? This is a straight yes or no question, and it is getting a clear response.   It is about 6-1 in favor of second amendment supporters at this time.    The question is based on the resolution of the Peruta decision, which says, in a straightforward way, that the second amendment protects the right of a person to carry arms outside of the home for self defense.   The result of the decision is that California permit applicants will not be denied a permit at...

Law-abiding Californians may not need to justify their need to carry concealed weapons, after the same three-judge panel that struck down restrictions on the permits earlier this year ruled Wednesday that it is too late for new opponents to join the fight against the ruling. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would bar other law enforcement officials, including state Attorney General Kamala Harris, from gaining “intervener status” to join in further challenges of its ruling in a case originally brought by an independent journalist who sued the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department over its policy of...

MI Realtor with CCW permit Michigan Poll:  Would you be more comfortable shopping for a home if you knew your Realtor was carrying a gun? Note the tortured structure of this poll.  Not "Would it bother you if your Realtor carried a gun?  Not  "Do you think Realtors should be able to carry guns?" I think the clearest question would be "Would you prefer that your Realtor  be unarmed?" But the question is what it is.   The results so far are as follows: Would you be more comfortable shopping for a home if you knew your Realtor was carrying...