Posted on 04/08/2007 8:46:57 PM PDT by freespirited
Shelly Parker did everything she could to keep her home safe. She owned a dog. She called police when she suspected illegal activity on her block. She installed a security camera on her front window.
Her crime-fighting efforts made an impression. One night, Parker found her car window smashed and saw rocks scattered around the vehicle. She felt it was retaliation....
A police officer gave her some advice.
Get a gun, he told her.
Parker later joined five other residents who took the government to court in an effort to overturn the city's 31-year-old handgun ban. In March, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in their favor, striking down key elements of the statute by a 2 to 1 vote. ... the judges said the Second Amendment gives residents the right to keep loaded guns in their homes.
The lawsuit bearing her name, Parker vs. the District of Columbia, probably will make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The D.C. attorney general's office said that the city will file a petition tomorrow to have the case reheard before the full Court of Appeals. The gun law is expected to remain intact while proceedings unfold.
The court's decision has been hailed by gun-rights organizations and others who consider themselves staunch defenders of constitutional rights. But D.C. officials and gun-control advocates fear wiping out the ban will proliferate violence. Some have argued that the half-dozen residents who filed the lawsuit are outside the norm in a city once labeled the nation's murder capital.
For Parker, the court ruling is a victory for residents who believe a firearm provides protection when fighting for safe communities. "The only thing between me and somebody entering my home are harsh words," Parker said. "That's all I have."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Someone (Jeff Cooper?) once said: “A 9mm is a .45 set on stun”
A really small 9mm (no double stack - short barrel) is OK if concealment is your first priority - but there are so many better options.
Sorry to disagree with Col. Cooper but the 9mm is a fine SD round weather you are going concealed or not.
That said I prefer a .45 BUT, that is just my preference. A 9mm will stop anyone properly hit with it as will many other rounds.
I always ask those that think only a ** caliber is worth carrying if they would mind if a shot them with a smaller caliber than they stated. So far I haven’t had any takers. ;)
Ah. Another “mine is bigger than yours” comment.
Having read FBI ballistics test reports, I can assure you that this is a “mine is more effective” comment.
The conclusions of the report very simply put:
In terms of incapacitation, Handgun rounds are generally inferior to rifle ammunition.
The 9mm was identified as being particularly ineffective.
The .45 and the .357 were determined to be the most effective SD handgun cartridges. (The study predated 10mm and .40 S&W)
I owned a S&W 5906 and traded it in on the Kimber.
Old data. Come over to my house and I'll put 16 rounds in a 3" circle at 7 yards in under five seconds.
To each his own. I can afford .45 acp weapons. I just don't like the caliber. Is everyone supposed to like .45 acp?
These caliber wars are stooopid.
The Navy SEALS don't seem to have problems with 9mm. But I guess you're more experienced than they.
The Kimber owners I know dumped them and went with Sigs and Colts.
I don't have a good picture of mine, so I'm borrowing one off of Google... ;-)
EAA Witness 10mm Full sized. Wonder Finish. 20# recoil spring, polished feed ramp, Wolf mag springs, trimmed down the ejector, and did a home trigger job on it that really cleaned up the DA break on it. Coming up are Elite series wooden grips, adjustable rear sight, ambi-safety, and possibly a threaded 6" barrel for suppressed goodness.
My piece:
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