From the Second Amendment Foundation:
Gunstories.org -- a place for everyone to tell their story
A new website is looking for stories that show what experiences shaped what people believe about guns and gun rights. Some of the stories may end up as part of a feature documentary or a TV series in the early stages of development.
Gunstories.org has stories from all points of view -- pro, anti, and everything in between. Let's make sure our stories get heard.
Had missed this announcement but saw it on Page Nine:
The fourth annual Media Day at the Range, scheduled for the day before the SHOT Show, will be on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009, at the Orange County Sheriff's Range in Orlando. This event gives outdoor journalists the opportunity to handle and shoot new products from leading manufacturers.
Cool. Murdoc will be there.
The only think I didn't like was that several manufacturers had their own events at separate locations on the same day. Doesn't make it easy to check everything out.
If you're reading this web site, I'm probably preaching to the choir when I say that concealed carry laws generally mean lower violent crime rates. But if you're looking for a handy graphic to show your non-believer friends and co-workers, check this out:
Chart data sources:
Right to Carry Laws 2006 - www.nraila.org/map.
Violent Crime Rates in the United States 2006 - www.fbi.gov/table5.
National Average - Violent Crime Rates in the United States 2006 - www.fbi.gov/table1.
Copied from the MCRGO newsletter.
Note that this includes most of the restricted issue states in with the two no-issue states and DC.
Another interesting one from the MCRGO newsletter:
Q: What are the deadly force rules for defending myself against a dog?
A: Since a dog is not a human being, the rules of "deadly force" as such do not apply. However, there is a Michigan statute on point, MCL 287.279 (The Dog Law of 1919, as amended), which states:
"Any person including a law enforcement officer may kill any dog which he sees in the act of pursuing, worrying, or wounding any livestock or poultry or attacking persons, and there shall be no liability on such person in damages or otherwise, for such killing. Any dog that enters any field or enclosure which is owned by or leased by a person producing livestock or poultry, outside of a city, unaccompanied by his owner or his owner's agent, shall constitute a trespass, and the owner shall be liable in damages. Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than a law enforcement officer, to kill or injure or attempt to kill or injure any dog which bears a license tag for the current year."
So, any citizen is privileged to kill any dog that is in the act of attacking people, or other animals. However, a properly-licensed dog may not be harmed unless it is in the act of attacking. Of course, all the rules of common sense and gun safety still apply and, if you find youself in a position where it is required to use a gun to defend a person or another animal from a vicious dog, you should be aware of the placement of your shots as you still may have liability for bullets that strike other animals, people, or property. If your use of your gun is found to be unreasonable, in that the dog you shot, or shot at, was not in the act of attacking, you will probably face criminal charges and potential civil suits. So, even though dogs are not people, your gun is still considered deadly force and should only be used judiciously and in case of emergencies.
As MCRGO is a Michigan organization, your mileage may vary in other states. Be sure to know your local laws.
Saying that, I freely admit that I need to know mine better than I do.
Message to Tom King after the 2004 NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh:
No, thank you and all the NRA members who came to our city. this was the largest, most peaceful, the cleanest family oriented and financially successful convention held in this city. There have been no fights, no litter, no drunkenness and the restaurants/stores are all saying you guys spend money. This city needs that! The sad part is that our Police Chief had all our SWAT Teams on alert because he predicted it would be like ‘old Dodge City’ with you drunken gun owners shooting up the city.
Think of all the money spent to keep the tactical cops ready for the Wild West just because the anti-gun paranoia is so deeply ingrained in urban society.
Via Sebastian.
London's Cameras Don't Reduce Crime
Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.
It's very telling that only 3% of the actual robberies are solved with the help of the system when it was hoped that the system would help prevent crimes from being committed in the first place. Even more telling would be numbers indicating whether crime has increased or decreased since the program was launched.
BLOGROLL
