After a long and busy holiday, the tree is down, the decorations are put away, the houseguests are gone, and the stories are piled up. So without further ado, let’s jump right back in with another round of “Is it an arsenal?” Police on Vancouver Island seized 19 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition after executing a search warrant on drug-related charges. This is not really a story, but there’s a photo, and in the photo is a gun that won TTAG’s readers’ choice award for best rifle this year. It’s now in the custody of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia. Sorry, guys. . . Oh, and go Tigers!
Several businesses just a block from the White House were hit by bullets from a drive-by shooting early last Saturday morning. Yes, Virginia, there are guns in Washington, D.C. despite great efforts to the contrary. Thankfully, since it was 2:30 a.m., no one was injured, but a couple bullets went through the windows at Brewood Engraving, and a couple more took out one of the big plate glass windows at Caribou Coffee on the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania, a popular Secret Service hangout. A total of 6 properties were damaged, and police are looking at video and searching for clues. Because I know you’re concerned, the President was never in any danger. He was in Hawaii.
A story out of Knox, New York is in the running for the best, briefest headline that I’ve ever seen. An alcohol-fueled domestic dispute escalated when a man grabbed a gun, threatened self-harm, and fired a shot. The rest of the family in the house fled, cops showed up, the man surrendered and was jailed. The headline? Gun fired, kin fled, man jailed.
Despite the bleating of the civilian disarmament movement that gun ownership is on the decline, records for firearm-related background checks were set all across the country in 2013. Florida had the largest number I found, with 823,653 by December 15th, already more than 3% over last year’s total. Virginia had a total of 479,253 for the year, an 11% increase over 2012, and Colorado had run 354,880 checks by the end of November, handily beating 2012’s total of 335,940 with December still to go. Finally, Alabama had 486,506 checks through November, up nearly 13% over last year’s total, and they also have December still to add in. This is not a conclusive list, just the ones that came across my screen in the last few days.
A new measure took effect on January 1 in Illinois that will have [consults crystal ball] precisely zero effect on crime in The Land of Lincoln, where Illinois gun owners are now required to check their buyer’s credentials with the state before transferring ownership of their weapons. Gun owners in the Prairie State have long had to keep records of their private sales and check that buyers had FOID cards, but if the FOID had been revoked, a seller would have no way of knowing that, a situation that the new law was designed to ameliorate. However, Richard Pearson, director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, aptly points out that, “It’s, of course, aimed at people who transfer guns illegally. But people who transfer guns illegally are still going to transfer guns illegally. I can’t imagine too many gang members have FOID cards.”
I learned something today. Apparently in Germany it’s only permitted to set off fireworks for 48 hours a year, December 31st and January 1st. So slingshot master Joerg Sprave decided to get a little more bang for his buck, by making a a slingshot rocket launchtower. “Two meters fifty” high (that’s 8.2 feet for you ‘Muricans) with two big rubber bands and a foot-operated trigger. First the video where he introduces and demonstrates it with an unlit firework (because he’s not allowed to light it yet)…
and then the one from the following night, when things get… interesting about halfway through.
Let’s Bring ‘Em Home finished out the year strong, raising just over $97,000 and flying 133 servicemen and women home for the holidays, from nearly 8,000 miles away to just a few hundred. The two highest tickets this year were over $2,100 to bring a zoomie home from Fort Wainwright, AK to Rochester, NY, and nearly $1,900 to bring a Marine home to Harlem from Okinawa. Thanks to all of you who supported the effort. They’ll be back next year with the unofficial kickoff on Veteran’s Day, and the official one on Thanksgiving.
This is a tragic situation, I live in Austin and feel very bad for this Officer and his family….. However, If I was his lawyer he would be getting off… It is debatable whether or not he knew it was the police, however the shadow of doubt is definitely in his favor
From TEXAS CHL handbook
PENAL CODE
PC CH. 9. JUSTIFICATION EXCLUDING
CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
Subch. C. PROTECTION OF PERSONS
PC §9.31. SELF-DEFENSE
Not acceptable against officer *UNLESS*:
(c) The use of force to resist an arrest or search is justified:
(1) if, before the actor offers any resistance, the peace officer (or
person acting at his direction) uses or attempts to *****use greater force than
necessary to make the arrest or search****; and
(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force
is immediately necessary to protect himself against the peace officer’s (or
other person’s) use or attempted use of greater force than necessary.
Alice in Chains: Rooster:
http://youtu.be/5gHiR1xeOSs
I have ZERO sympathy for that cop. If more no knock raids would end like this maybe it would at least slow down.
what outdoor range is open???
Most of those in Texas.
The indoor range just up the road is open 365 days a year.
Always partial to Gimme Three Steps by Lynard Skynard or Pistolero by Juno Reactor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq8lftiOIHc
All gun manufacturers should just simply trash the questionnaire on arrival.
If not a single manufacturer replied who would they buy their guns from?
This needs to be nipped in bud from get-go so others don’t follow suit.
If Labron showed up at Knob Creek and shot machine guns while sporting an NRA hat I might actually like the dude… hell, I’d become his biggest fan. Until then, I don’t. Go Trail Blazers!
I hope that this is the last time that TMZ video is featured on this website (short of extenuating circumstances).
Texas is going downhill.
I enjoy a nice 1911, but I consider the Browning Hi-Power more functional. If I were to carry a classic heavy traditional all-metal pistol, it would probably be the one. I’d love to read some reviews of fancy Browning Hi-Power models here on TTAG. I think it’s a shame there isn’t a comparable Hi-Power scene. Doesn’t America love 9mm and magazines with a higher capacity? Not to mention ergonomics.
Yeah, a series of questions from the manufacturer starting with, We are concerned that your department will use our product in a responsible manner. Therefore we require answers to the following questions:
1. Does your department conduct ‘no-knock’ raids?
2. What are your qualifying and requalifying requirements?
a. How much force on force training is conducted?
b. What training is conducted using static targets?
c. What training is conducted using moving targets?
d. What physical conditioning requirements exist?
e. What on-duty and off-duty storage requirments exist?
f. How often are officers off-duty storage facilities inspected?
g. Please describe the SCOTUS rulings in Heller and McDonald. Summarize what the court decided and how your city government will respect/adhere to the court’s direction. Please include what types of laws regarding firearms you believe are constitutional.
h. Are the weapons in this solicitation available to the general public? If not, why do you believe they should be made available to the LEO personnel? What conditions for self-defense are applicable to LEO personnel that do not apply to the general public?
i. How many negligent discharges has your department experienced in the last 5 years?
a. Please provide copies of the investigative reports for each incident.
b. Also provide the actions taken after each incident to preclude future incidents of a similar nature.
j. Please provide a list of all misuses of a firearm by your LEO personnel.
a. Provide the details of disciplinary or adminstrative action taken for each incident.
You could keep going…
“Shotgun” (You can’t talk to a man, with a shotgun in his hand…)
“Johnnie Cope”
Why is there no section For reliability.
Not sure I would get that specific (unless you’re really in respiratory or cardiac distress, which based upon the responses from the physical fitness post, is a distinct possibility amongst some of the gun-owning crowd) – but suffice it to say, ANY law abiding citizen who was just involved in a DGU, is at a minimum going to feel sick and severe anxiety…..sick to their stomach due to the adrenalin dump and the fact that they (or some other innocent) almost lost their life, and at the prospect that they were forced to take (or almost took) the life of another human being…not to mention you may have suffered some yet-to-be identified injuries yourself – for all those reasons alone, I would seek medical treatment…theres no need to make anything up, these are all legitimate and understandable considering what one just went through….and then, contact your lawyer and exercise your right to remain silent until you have counsel