Poor journalism

I read an article by Mr. Edgar Allen Beem concerning Harry Reid's not putting the assault rifle ban before the senate (Read full article here).  I responded with the following to the author.  As of this writing,  I'm including it here for your review.  I have not had a response.   

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I read your article carefully and found it lacking in both logic and understanding.

I commend you for not misusing the word "clip" as so many of your fellow journalists do. I completely understand your position, though I do not agree with it (your position being that guns themselves should be banned for all except, I'm assuming, law enforcement and military).

What I don't understand, is why a journalist who is paid to think, write down those thoughts, then share that writing with others in an attempt to convey news and/or ideas, would be so haphazard when it came to law, example, history, and process.

Take for example the nefarious politicos who thwart attempts at campaign reform - they're the ones who write the laws that they create *to be thwarted*. One cannot compare that to a an arms manufacturer that obeys the law, even if the outcome of their compliance is different than the intent of the law - that just speaks to either a) poor legislation or b) nefarious politicos who take money from whatever industry to create laws in that industry's favor. Its actually a function of the corrupt political process rather than the industry targeted by journalists (banking, firearms, insurance, whatever).

Lets also address the 2nd amendment. It actually does, in and of itself, mean that one can own military hardware. That's exactly what civilians owned when it was written. Times have changed and the SCOTUS has said that the amendment can be infringed when the general public safety is at risk, such as public ownership of bombs, fully auto firearms, gas, etc... (1934). There is precedent to support a ban on other weapons (such as banning all semi-auto firearms), but I believe that this would create a true infringement for the 2nd amendment that goes against the spirit of the law that SCOTUS would not support.

As to Mr. Reid not putting it to a vote - I agree with you. Just because something *won't* pass, doesn't mean it shouldn't be voted on. I would suggest we have a vote to repeal the National Firearms Act - it would never pass but it would be nice to piss off the liberals. Does that sound like an effective use of our gridlocked congress? Its one thing to be upset that your law isn't voted on, its another entirely to suggest that it should be voted on solely for the purpose of giving the finger to a segment of the population.

Now, lets consider how the pro-gun folks dealt with the anti-gun rage at "assault rifles". They defended the anti-gun attack specifically on "assault rifles" because the bullets that assault rifles fire are, for all intents and purposes, the same bullets that any other gun fires. If the anti-gun folks are going to target a type of weapon, one *should* expect that those in support of that weapon will defend it based on the merits of the argument (of which there were few). Since assault rifles have actually contributed very little to the overall gun violence deaths in the US, and the anti-gun folks target that weapon, then it stands to reason that deaths from other weapons (including non-firearm) is less significant and those who die from them are less important. By targeting only assault rifles, the anti-gun people are minimizing the importance of violence in our country in favor of mass killings.

Also, the size of the magazine is largely unimportant for the purposes of a perpetrator.  Its been proven over and over that someone who goes on a spree will bring whatever ammo and/or magazines that they need to accomplish their goal.   Reloading is too fast and easy to make magazine size a deterrent of any type.   However, it will prevent someone who *could* stop a bad guy from doing so because, as a rule, those who have legal weapons (and carry them legally) don't know if or when they'll be in a firefight, nor the scale of that fight.  They can only prepare for what *they* believe is reasonable.

Now - here's where it gets ugly

To pass a law that makes one "feel better", but that flies in the face of The Constitution (pick your amendment), is to (by definition) reduce our freedoms and liberties with no discernible positive result. Lets not quibble about laws that are already on the books, about how they currently aren't being enforced as they should be, about how repeat violent offenders are let back into society, the list goes on. But lets be clear about passing laws that "feel good" that are potentially unconstitutional. The Constitution is there to limit the power of government. Any time you infringe on it, we give up more rights to the government. History has proven that this can be detrimental and should only be done with absolute surety that the law is in the people's best interest *and* can be objectively quantified. "Feel good" does not pass that litmus test.

Here's the sickness in America. Its that people believe that they can commit a crime, get slapped on the wrist, and go do it again. Its that the mentally ill are free to roam and kill at will without any reliable method of intervention and/or treatment. Its that an old guy like me *needs* to be armed because young thugs will harm me (its happened). Its that women need protection from rapists. Its because we cannot depend on the government to protect us.

Until we address the issue of violence in America, the issue of "gun violence" is completely moot.

Do you have the right to feel safe?

This gun control debate has really polarized the nation.   So many people want the guns gone.   So many people want the guns here.   Who's right and who's wrong.... and more to the point, who has the moral right to impose their will on the other?  Isn't that what its really coming down to?

And lets be clear on one point here before we begin.   If you think that the "assault weapons" ban or "high capacity magazine" ban is a good idea because it saves lives, but that you don't support a "total firearm ban" or the abolition of the 2nd Amendment, then you need to examine exactly what you believe.   These weapons and magazines are protected by the 2nd Amendment that you think you support.  The politicians who want these bans don't want to ban assault rifles.  They want to ban all firearms.  If they tell you otherwise, they are lying so that they don't lose votes.  The irony is that you already know they're lying.   If you think its OK to have firearms, but not assault rifles, then you need to educate yourself on exactly what firearms do.   They're all dangerous in the wrong hands.  All of them.  Every single one.  If you think we need to ban assault rifles, then your logical conclusion will have to be that we need to ban all firearms and repeal or amend the 2nd Amendment.   Coming to a different conclusion demonstrates a lack of understanding of both firearms and the law.

Lets look at The Constitution and Bill of Rights.   For those who slept through civics in high school, the bill of rights is the first ten amendments to our constitution.  The Constitution is a document that defines how we run our country.  Laws have to abide by the rules of the constitution in order to be deemed "constitutional".

Here's The Constitution in text format so I don't have to print it here.

So, lets focus first on The Constitution.

Part of Article 1 Section 8 of The Constitution focuses on the role of the federal government as it pertains to trade between states.

• To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.

So, basically, the federal government has the right to create laws where goods from one state are shipped/sold/purchased/etc... in another.  This could give the federal government the right to prevent any arms trafficking (selling of firearms) between states and force each state to manufacture their own firearms.  It can't, however, prevent a state from manufacturing firearms.  Only the state can do that.

Article 5 states that the house and senate can amend The Constitution.   So the framework can be changed as long as there's enough votes.   This isn't passing a law as such, this is modifying the framework for the law.   For example, if the constitution was modified to allow homosexual marriage, then laws would be written concerning any issues that may arise from this protection.    I bring this up because, if those who would remove our firearms were honest (rather than using smoke and mirrors to accomplish their goals), they could repeal or amend the 2nd Amendment and remove our right to bear arms.

Now lets move on to the most quoted amendment these days; the 2nd Amendment.   I also wish to quote a passage from The Declaration of Independence that, I believe, is the precursor to the 2nd Amendment. 

• Declaration of Independence: ...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...
• Declaration of Independence: That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...
• 2nd Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Some would say that the right of the people to keep and bear Arms applies to The People and some say it applies to the militias.   Doesn't matter.  The Supreme Court has sided with those who interpret it as The People.

Our Founding Fathers recognized that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  That's pretty important.  Does my owning a firearm infringe on someone else's right to those unalienable rights?  Does my carrying a firearm infringe upon your right to life when I don't actually take or threaten your life?   Does my ownership of firearms infringe on your pursuit of happiness because you're not happy as long as firearms exist?

Our Founding Fathers also recognized that our own government may someday become so corrupt that we may need to rise up against it; that a vote would no longer change the course of this corruption.  In this eventuality, The People would need to be armed at least as well as the government (in their view).  Now, nobody is advocating nuclear weapons or tanks being sold at Wal-Mart, but the intent of The Founding Fathers is clear - we must be prepared and we must remain vigilant.

In 1934 The National Firearms Act infringed on the 2nd Amendment.   It passed because the type of weaponry available to the public was pretty bad stuff and the federal government said that it put too many people at risk.  Mobsters with machine guns, sawed off shotguns, etc... were shootin' up big cities.   Bonnie and Clyde were robbing banks.   The act included, not just sawed off shotguns and machine guns, but poison gas, grenades, bombs... really bad stuff; the first incarnations of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).  Do I personally agree with it this law?   No.   Does that matter?  No.  The Supreme Court has upheld the infringement as being in the best interest of public safety.   I believe it actually flies in the face of the 2nd Amendment because it weakens our ability to protect ourselves from a government that is armed with these weapons.  But my opinion is only that; my opinion.

Today, there is lots of data supporting both sides of the argument.   There aren't many studies because the government is prohibited from funding studies concerning "gun safety".   There's a reason for this.  The people who want the studies want to ban guns and there is not enough data on the subject to come to a conclusion that isn't heavily weighted in the favor of those who wish to ban guns.   For example, I have a friend who has needed a firearm to protect himself, his property, and his family, on three separate occasions.   No shots were fired, and the police weren't called.    If he had been unarmed, he would not have been able to defend himself against multiple perpetrators and the story may have ended differently; he might have become a statistic in the "victim of violent crime" column.   So since there was no record of the event, how can it be taken into account when doing a study on "gun safety" and the value of firearms for citizens?  Short answer, it can't.

There is, however, a lot of data concerning "violent crime".  In the U.S., violent crime includes a lot of crime with guns - and a lot without.   People who would feel safer if we were unarmed aren't interested in this data though.   They're interested in what they see on the news.  Sandy Hook, Columbine, Aurora, etc...  They're interested in those criminals who have guns and what it means to their feeling of safety and security when those criminals are shooting other people.   The argument goes that if we confiscate guns, then nobody will be able to shoot anybody else; they will feel safer.

This is the problem with the debate.   People cloak themselves in the data sets of their choosing to support their feeling of safety - whether that safety is to carry a firearm or to ban them.   For example, roughly 30,000 people will be killed by firearms this year in the U.S.   That is a scary number.... no matter how you look at it.   It makes you want to ban guns to save 30,000 lives!   However, half of those are suicides.  Does it make you feel safer to ban guns to prevent suicide?  That makes no sense.  If you're trying to save lives, then treat the victim before he/she is suicidal.  Preventing someone from killing themselves with a weapon won't make you safer, unless you're contemplating suicide, then maybe you should seek help rather than pull the trigger... or swallow the pills... or jump off that bridge; my point being that lumping suicides into the "gun violence" metric is disingenuous.  So how many lives are saved each year with firearms.  We don't know.   Maybe its none.  Maybe its 2,000,000.   If the number of lives saved is greater than the number of lives lost, then shouldn't we be armed?   The question itself can't be answered because there is not enough data to support the hypothesis either way.

Since there is no complete and reliable method of accounting, any data used to prove the point either way will be incomplete and therefore the conclusion will be flawed.   Either way.   So, baring actual data that supports either stance, what is our course of action?   Some would say that because they would feel safer without guns, that all guns should be banned.   However,  feeling safer and being safer are not always the same thing.   Think of the child hiding in a closet during a house fire.  Or the child who's afraid of the monster under the bed.   In both cases the feeling of fear and security are completely misplaced.

Since we cannot rely on our feeling of security to protect us, we will rely on the law.  Currently, the law is that, supported by The Constitution, we may keep and bear arms.   There is a massive effort to make firearms illegal.  This is led by people who are afraid of the monster under the bed; that somehow, if we get rid of the bed, the monster will be effectively dealt with.   One could argue that those who carry weapons are like the child hiding in the closet during a house fire; that they feel protected when in fact they are in great danger.

My point in all this is simple.   This debate is all about fear and feelings; not about facts.   

It will do no good to attempt to argue a gun owner into believing that they will be safer without a firearm.  It will do no good to attempt to argue an anti-gun advocate into believing that they will be safer with a gun (or in the proximity of someone with a gun).   The only way to convince people is to educate the fear from them. In my case, its to take my anti-gun friends to the range and teach them.   Let them see that firearms are tools and not inherently evil.   Teach them that there is a safe way to handle, store, and use firearms.  Teach them that criminals want soft targets; people who will not oppose or threaten them.  Teach them that criminals don't care if the victim lives or dies.  Teach them that they are responsible for their own safety.   If they choose to be a soft target, that this is their choice.   If I choose to defend myself, that it is my choice.

Because The Constitution says that I have the right to keep and bear arms, then I have that right regardless of others' feelings until such time as the criminals win and have these firearms banned.  After all, who stands to gain the most from a ban?   Those who would take advantage from the defenseless.

Piers Morgan - You're an idiot

I know he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but Piers Morgan really wowed me with his "logic"

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Piers: How many people have been shot in your restaurant since you've owned it?
Jay:  Zero
Piers: So actually there's been no gun threat to your restaurant whatsoever.
The only threat now is because you're actually encouraging all these people, who may or may not be criminals or mentally insane people, from coming armed to the teeth with weapons; the likelyhood of there being an accident, or something, in your place - or somebody doing something stupid - has just massively increased.
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OK - logic & terminology 101. 
1.  One cannot imply an outcome without knowing the actual values of the variables.  For instance, there is no measurement of who came in with guns before the "special", only who took advantage of the special after it was advertised.
2.  One cannot go from "zero shootings" to "massively increased" threat since you still have zero shootings and, due to item 1, one doesn't know if the threat has actually massively increased - or increased at all.   One can say "my threat has measurably increased or decreased" or that "I've gone from zero to 10 shootings (or 10 to zero)", but not that I've gone from zero shootings to increased threat.  That is not a correlation.
3.  "Armed to the teeth" is not a single 9mm handgun.   Is one "armed to the teeth" if they are trained in deadly hand to hand combat?  Armed to the teeth definition
4.  Since there has been no study on offering a discount on pizza with gun violence, it is presumptive rather than logical to assume that it will lead to greater gun violence.   I could just as easily submit that because those who bought pizza are fed (satisfying Maslow's first need) that they are less likely to be violent.

Piers - you're a fool and your logic doesn't come close to surviving the most cursory scrutiny.

Bring a gun? Get cheap pizza.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should

We're living in strange times.

We're faced with a life fraught with danger at every turn.   Thousands die from cancer every year; none of us are unscathed in some way.   Thousands die and thousands more maimed and injured from automobile accidents.   We lose so many loved ones to suicide.   Domestic violence sends women and children to hospitals and morgues every day of the year.  There are places that good people can't go because crime is so bad that "common sense" tells you its stupid to walk those streets; police won't even go there.  And this is just in the United States.   From Aurora to Sandy Hook, it seem like every day more people are dying from gun violence.

Other parts of the world look on our "problems" as one step shy of paradise.   Canada just apologizes in the hope that its not really their fault after all and goes back to drinking their collective beer.  By the way, it isn't.

Life isn't fair.

But now we have a choice to make, as a country, about some of these issues.

Well meaning people with the best intentions would ban or confiscate our firearms.   This, however, isn't the point of my thought today.   Its the cause of my thought.

There are a lot of people who are afraid that, at some point in time, the anti-gun people will win and the Second Amendment will be repealed.   This has led to a run on guns and ammo.   Prices are through the roof and availability is nonexistent.  This is a basic cause/effect of capitalism (ironically, the very force that so many anti-gun folks take issue with, but I digress) in that when supply is reduced, prices are increased.

Even this isn't necessarily a bad thing.  As I said, its basic cause and effect.  Here's the bad thing.  People are buying guns who are scared and who have never handled a weapon before.  My advice today goes out to them.

If you don't think that you should have a firearm in your house, then don't buy one!  This is not a judgement on you or that you are somehow against the second amendment.  This is you knowing what is best for you in your home.  Trust your instincts.

I've had a few phone calls and emails from friends asking my advice on which weapon to buy, how to store the weapon, should they get a carry permit, etc...   I'm going to give my advice here in the hopes that someone reads it and rethinks their current plan.

First - buy the gun.  Its your right.  You don't need to feel guilty about buying whatever gun you want for whatever legal reason you want it for.   Which gun you ask?  That's like asking me to tell you over the phone which tie to pick out or if those jeans make you look fat.   I have no idea which gun you should buy.   I can make recommendations, but those are just my preferences imposed on you.  But - lets talk guns.

Today we'll focus on handguns, but lets get our terms straight.

Rule number 1: The gun is always loaded.  Always.   Even when you're looking into an empty chamber.
Rule number 2: Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.  Even when it isn't loaded (see rule number 1).

• Safety
• Red means FIRE!
• Some weapons have a safety button or lever.  This is not a guaranty that it will not fire, its only a precaution.
• Some weapons have an internal safety that only allows the firing pin to engage the round if the trigger is physically pulled back.   This prevents accidental discharge by dropping the weapon or some other event where the trigger is not pulled.   This will not prevent the weapon from discharging if the trigger catching on something or if the shooter accidentally pulls the trigger.
• Action types
• The "action" of a weapon refers to what happens when you pull the trigger, what happens to a spent round, and how a new round is loaded into the firing chamber.
• Single Action
• Pull the trigger and, if the firing mechanism is charged (or "cocked"), the firing pin engages the primer of the bullet.  If the mechanism is not charged, the firing pin will not engage the primer and the round will not discharge. Charging the firing mechanism means to pull back the hammer or otherwise put tension on a spring that, when released, will cause the firing pin to engage the rpimer of the bullet.
• The firing mechanism must be charged with some action other than tension on  the trigger (i.e. manually pulling back on the hammer)
• Double Action
• Pressure on the trigger will charge the firing mechanism as the trigger is pulled back.    After the mechanism is charged, the firing pin engages the primer of the bullet.  Manually charging the firing mechanism is usually possible by pulling back on the hammer or by cycling a round (pulling the slide on a semi-automatic and releasing it).
• Pulling on the trigger can easily impact accuracy.  As you pull on the trigger, you may find that the more pressure you exert (in order to charge the weapons), the more your sight shakes or moves.
• Bolt Action
• Image of bolt action rifle
• Usually refers to rifles.
• A handle is manually pulled back which ejects a spent round, charges the firing mechanism, and loads a new round from the magazine.
• Usually this is a single-action mechanism (the trigger won't charge the firing mechanism)
• Pump Action
• Image of pump action shotgun
• Usually refers to shotguns, but can be rifles as well.
• A grip beneath the barrel is pulled back towards the shooter.  This ejects a spent round, charges the firing mechanism, and loads a new round into the firing chamber.
• Usually this is a single-action mechanism (the trigger won't charge the firing mechanism)
• Lever Action
• Image of lever action rifle
• Usually refers to rifles, but can be shotguns as well.
• A lever, usually part of the trigger guard, that extends along the bottom of the stock and is designed in such a way that holding the firearm allows one's hand to naturally fit through the lever, is pressed down and towards the front of the firearm.  This ejects a spent round, charges the firing mechanism, and loads a new round into the firing chamber.
• Usually this is a single-action mechanism (the trigger won't charge the firing mechanism)
• Usually, there is a hammer that can be disengaged manually, and manually re-charged by pulling back on the hammer.  This allows a round to be loaded in the chamber, but the weapon is not able to fire because the firing mechanism is not charged.
• Semi-Automatic
• Bullets are stored in a magazine (not a clip!  A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm.) and as a round is fired, the energy generated by firing the round causes the firearm to eject the spent round, load a new round from the magazine, and charge the firing mechanism.  Holding back the trigger will only fire a single round.  The trigger must be disengaged before the next found can be fired.
• This is the most popular type of weapon used by civilians in the U.S. today.  This includes handguns, shotguns, and rifles.
• Semi-automatic weapons can be both single-action (eg. Glock 22) and double-action (eg. Sig Sauer P229).
• Fully-Automatic
• Illegal to most civilians in the U.S.  Highly regulated and very harsh penalties for illegal ownership.   If someone tells you that they only want to ban "fully-automatic assault rifles" - tell them that they've been banned since 1936.
• The same as semi-automatic except that there is usually a switch (depending on the model) to allow this weapon to be used in semi-auto (stated above), burst (fires 3 rounds with a single trigger pull), or full auto.  The full auto setting will fire rounds as long as the trigger is depressed and as long as there are rounds in the magazine.
• This is a "military assault rifle".   Semi-automatic "assault rifles" are not used by the military because they lack the full-auto capability.
• Some semi-automatic weapons have been converted to fully automatic, but that requires a physical change to the weapon and is already highly illegal. Fully Automatic Glock
• Handguns
• Derringer
• Image of Derringer
• Really a picture of a derringer
• A derringer is a very small pistol that only holds one or two shots.  Some hold more, but that's not really important.  
• Do not buy a derringer for self defense.  Because of its size, derringers usually don't have a trigger guard.  The trigger guard is that little metal ring that goes around the trigger and prevents things from catching on it and accidentally discharging the weapon.   
• The last thing in the world, when you're under stress, that you want is a weapon that 
• is so small you will fumble with
• accidentally discharging the weapon while you fumble with it
• having the discharge 
• injure an innocent person 
• leave you with 1 or no rounds for the bad guy
• Derringers are, almost always, single action.
• Derringers are fun to shoot.   It isn't fun to protect yourself with a firearm.  Do not confuse the two.
• Double Action Revolver
• Image of standard revolver
• The most famous revolver in the US has got to be the .44 Magnum popularized by Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry "Do you feel lucky?  Well.. do ya?  Punk?" (best Dirty Harry moment EVER!)
• Each time the firing mechanism is charged, the cylinder holding the rounds rotates so that a new round is in the firing position; hence the term "revolver".
• A revolver carries between 5 and 8 rounds in its cylinder.  It is an excellent self defense firearm but has some pros and cons.
• Pros
• They are reliable.  They don't jam.  Pull the trigger and it goes bang.  If you pull the trigger and it doesn't go bang, pull the trigger again.  
• They can be easy to carry since they come in all sizes.  
• Supports calibers (size of the bullet .38 being the smallest I would use for personal defense) of many sizes.
• Cons
• Must expend energy on the trigger to charge the firing mechanism.  Usually, one can "cock" the hammer thus charging the firing mechanism and allow for a "lighter" trigger pull (no energy spent on the trigger for charging), however, this is time consuming in a self-defense scenario and may cost you your life.
• Limited number of rounds.  By comparison, semi-automatic handguns carry between 6 and 15 rounds easily.   You can get larger capacity magazines for semi-automatic handguns, but for daily self defense purposes, those aren't usually practical.
• The smaller the size, the fewer rounds it will hold.
• Reload time can be slower than semi-automatic.  Unless you have put hours of practice time in just reloading a revolver with a "speedy-loader", you will never be able to reload this weapon under stress in a firefight.
• Single Action Revolver
• Single Action Revolver image
• This is the old cowboy style revolver.  Remember those old westerns when the cowboy would use his non-gun hand to slap the gun while he fired?  What he was doing was charging the firing mechanism with his off hand by pulling back the hammer with his palm.   As quickly as he could pull back that hammer, he could fire the weapon.
• Do not buy this weapon for personal protection.   Even if you're a pro - too many things can go wrong.  Lots of fun to shoot, and there are great competitions for them... but you'll get yourself killed if you rely on it for protection.
• Double Action Semi-Automatic
• You'll hear many opinions on this as to whether a semi-automatic is single or double action.   A double action semi-automatic is like the Sig Sauer P229.  If there is a round in the chamber, you can pull back the trigger and charge the firing mechanism before firing the round.  There may be be a decocking lever on this weapon to safely uncharge the firing mechanism to prevent accidental discharge.   
• This is actually my weapon of choice.   By storing a round in the chamber, and the firing mechanism un-charged, I can draw the weapon with reduced fear of accidental discharge while under stress.  I can pull the trigger and immediately fire the weapon.   After I fire the weapon, the semi-automatic action ejects the spent round, charges the firing mechanism, and chambers a new round; ready to fire again.
• Single Action Semi-Automatic
• This weapon is charged either when the weapon is fired causing energy from the round to push the slide back, eject the spent round, charge the firing mechanism, and loading a new round into the firing chamber or by manually pulling the slide back to perform the same function.   Once the round has been chambered, there is no "decock" mechanism since there is no other way to charge the weapon (other than to eject the chambered round for a new round).
• When the trigger is pulled, the semi-automatic function ejects the spent round, charges the firing mechanism, and loads a new round.   This action makes it appear to be a double action weapon (pull the trigger and fire each time), but technically, its single action.
• I prefer not to use this type of weapon, though many law enforcement officers use it as their weapon of choice.  I prefer to have a much tighter pull on the trigger for the first round so that I am more aware of pulling the trigger rather than having my muscles tense from adrenaline and accidentally firing.
• This weapon really needs a manual safety and, if you choose this weapon as a self defense weapon, then you must learn to draw and disengage the safety in a single movement.  Practice this over and over until it is part of what you do - muscle memory.  Failing to make this muscle memory will probably get you killed if you draw on a bad guy.

OK - now... on with the show

If you're buying a defensive handgun, my advice is not to buy anything "smaller" than a .380.  This is just enough power to stop someone if you use the right ammunition and if you hit them a few times (obviously a head shot will stop them, but you can't rely on that shot).   My personal preference is 9mm, but .40 and .45 are both very popular.  If you're going to wear it, be sure that its small enough that you can conceal it under clothing.  Even if open carry is legal, it isn't my preferred method to carry since it draws attention.   I would just prefer that nobody knew I was armed.

If you've never owned a firearm before, and you don't know which one you want, ask yourself what you plan on doing with it.   Do you want a handgun, rifle, or shotgun?  If you don't know, and you just want "a gun" then fine.  That is a perfectly good place to start.   Go to your local gun store or sporting goods store and look around.  Find one that appeals to you aesthetically.  Maybe find one that makes a really big bang, if that's what floats your boat.   Find one that uses cheap ammo!   Maybe start with a .22.  Easy to fire, no kick, not such a loud bang, but same functions as all the rest for the purposes of learning.   Also, less deadly (but still deadly!) than higher caliber firearms.   Doesn't matter - the point is - learn about the firearm you buy before you actually shoot it, and when you do take it out to the range, bring someone with you to train you, hire an instructor, or take a class.

More advice for new gun owners.   Buy the cleaning kit with the gun.   If you don't clean your weapon every single time you come back from the range, your weapon will become untrustworthy.   There is one absolute about firearms.  Untrustworthy guns are dangerous.

More, more advice for new gun owners.   Don't buy any rounds (bullets) with your new gun.   You're not ready for them yet.   Even though you know what you're doing (you're not one of the stupid ones, right?), you have no business bringing live ammo into your home with your new gun when you know nothing about either of them.   You can buy your rounds on the way to the range or at the range.   If you must order the rounds online or in advance, keep them separate from your weapon and never even practice load it.   If you want to practice load, I suggest you buy some dummy rounds.  These are great little fake bullets that don't go bang.  They're just shaped like the real thing so that they'll fit in your gun and cycle properly (if you're using a semi-automatic).   They're great for teaching how to load, unload, and aim.   They are also invaluable for target practice.  Randomly place one in the cylinder or magazine of your firearm while you load live ammo.   When the dummy round is "fired", you will see how your body wants to compensate for the recoil (kick) of the firearm.  This compensation will throw off your aim significantly.   If you're consciously aware of it, you can work to reduce it.

A firearm is always loaded.  It doesn't matter if you store it in your safe unloaded and you're the only one with the combination.   When you open that safe, you use the appropriate method to check the weapon to see if its loaded every single time.  Always.  Period.  Not checking it is how people get hurt or die.

More, more more...ok you get it... advice.   Lock up your firearm.   Some safes are designed to keep kids from getting at your weapons, some are designed for keeping bad guys from getting at your weapons.  You must decide what your needs are concerning your safety and the safety of those in your house, whether they be residents or guests.  If your firearms are not going to be used for personal protection in the home, I recommend a gun safe or key lock system that is difficult for anyone to gain access.  

If your firearms are to be used for defense in the home, then you will want to have a safe or locking mechanism that is easily opened by you, but difficult to open by others.   A great example is this gun safe by GunVault.   Here's what good and bad about this safe...  its great for keeping kids away from your weapon, but its bad to keep your weapon from being stolen.   This is a safe that you want to place strategically in your home, somewhat hidden but easily accessible, so that you have ready access.   Also, note the lack of a biometric lock.   I don't recommend one because if you need the gun, you're probably already slightly freaked out.   If the biometric gives you a false negative (meaning the safe doesn't open), you might panic even more and blow the biometric read again.   Here's my advice.  

• Get the GunVault and open it every single day
• Draw the weapon
• Disengage the safety (or do whatever you need to in order to put the gun in a ready to fire state)
• Look around with your gun at the ready.  Do not point it at anyone while you practice! 
• After the room is "safe", prepare your weapon to be placed back in the safe
• Place the weapon in the safe and lock the safe

There's a really good reason for this type of practice - muscle memory.   Its how Bruce Lee kicked so much butt.   He didn't have to think about what he was doing, he just did it.   When you have to remember the combination to a safe, you will fail if you're under duress.   If you do it every day with a four button safe that your fingers rest on, your fingers will remember the combination even if you don't.   Also, this is why you want to draw your weapon and engage it by releasing the safety, putting the magazine in, racking it, or whatever you need to do to make that weapon ready to fire.   If you don't make this muscle memory, you will forget something and all you will have in your hand is a club.  Worse - you'll have a club that you think will fire bullets when you pull the trigger.  The last part is to look around the room.  What you don't want to happen is your body running on auto-pilot and putting the gun back to safe as soon as you rack it.   Each time you practice, stop and examine the room you're in.  When its "safe", then put the gun back into the safe in the state that you choose to store it in.

If you're new to firearms, there is no substitute for training.   If you've been raised with firearms in the house and can give a squirrel a lead enema at 100 yards, there's still no substitute for training.

Training can mean almost anything though.  I don't necessarily mean professional training (though if you're new to firearms, that's exactly what I mean).  I mean training your mind and your body to use the firearm safely and effectively.    OK - so what does "safely and effectively" mean.

Effective means different things depending on what you plan to use your weapon for.

If you shoot paper targets on a range, then "safely" means that you not only know the range rules, but you obey them.  To the letter.   Every single rule is there because some dumb-ass did what the rule said not to do (or inversely, didn't do what the rule said to do) and someone got hurt or killed.   If you don't follow these rules, even the "lame" ones, someone will get hurt or killed.   There is no gun expert in the world that would not follow a rule because its "stupid" if they're on a range that has a "stupid" rule.   The only people that don't follow stupid rules... are stupid people.  If you think you know what you're doing and that rule doesn't apply to you... you are stupid.

"Safely" also means that you know your weapon.   I had just purchased an MKA-1919 and I was not familiar with all of the action even though I'd read about it, examined the weapon, and dry fired it (pull the trigger of a charged weapon without loading it).   However, I had a jam (when a spent round is ejected and doesn't full clear the chamber on its way out or the new round doesn't slide into the chamber when the bolt closes and the bolt gets stuck half-open on the stuck round) that I couldn't clear.  I wasn't familiar enough with the weapon to correctly eject the magazine while in the jammed state.  So I asked the range master for assistance and he showed me how to clear it.  It is not embarrassing.  It does not mean I'm stupid for not being born with the knowledge.  It means that I learned what I didn't know before so that I could apply it in the future (and I did - several times).  You learn by examining the weapon, reading the instructions that come with it, and firing it.   If you don't understand the basics of firearms, bring someone who is familiar with them the first several times you shoot.  Hire an instructor.   Go to classes.  Whatever.  Don't learn from scratch by yourself.  That's how people get hurt and killed.

"Effectively" means, basically, that when you fire your weapon, you hit what you were aiming for.  That when you load your weapon, you don't fumble.   That when you unload your weapon, that its really unloaded.

If you plan on using your firearm for protection, then I have the following advice.

Most likely, you are not a member of SEAL Team 6.  Most likely, you are like me; just an average guy or girl who doesn't have the hand to hand training that is sufficient to protect yourself from an assailant.  A gun is "the great equalizer".   It makes the wielder as deadly as the attacker - sometimes more so.  However, with great power comes great responsibility (thanks Uncle Ben!).

Take classes on using defensive firearms.   That's my advice.

Nothing I can write here will help you.   Someone has to show you what to do.  You have to turn what they show you into muscle memory.  You must be able to react without thinking.

You must be able to do all of the following simultaneously

• Asses the threat to ensure that the threat exists and it isn't just perceived.
• Asses the surroundings to ensure that no innocent people are hurt
• Draw your weapon without getting it tangled in your clothes or lost in your purse
• Aim your weapon with one hand and/or both hands
• Determine if there's cover and get to it if possible
• Neutralize the threat.   This means that you fire at your target(s) until the threat no longer exists.
• You may need to reload during the firefight - do you have ammo/magazines for reload and, if so, can you reload while you're under duress?  muscle memory!
• Re-holster your weapon when there is no more threat.  

You will not be able to do these things without training.  Lots of training.   

So - what's been my advice through all this?   Learn about your weapon(s) and train!  

Action verses Wisdom

Lets be clear about the difference between "an obligation to act" and "an obligation to act wisely".

These are not mutually exclusive terms, but they have wildly different outcomes depending on how one defines "an obligation to act".

In the case of gun control, the gun control advocates' own research shows that the bill(s) set before congress, specifically Diane Feinstein's gun control bill banning assault rifles and magazines, will have "little or no effect" on gun related violence in the US.   In this case, proposing law with no Return On Investment (ROI) is action without impact.   Therefore, the "obligation to act" has been fulfilled, but the action has a price without an ROI.   This, as any first year business student knows, is a poor investment and/or policy.

Joe Biden would have us believe that strengthening laws against those who commit crimes with firearms is inaction.  He would have us believe that stopping the revolving door of career criminal behavior is inaction.   He would have us believe that arming ourselves so that we might defend our families, homes, and communities, from crime would be inaction.  He would have us only define "action" as banning weapons and standard magazines or, in other words, the only people who want action are the gun control advocates.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

We - law abiding armed citizens - are sick of being lumped into this demonized group of "gun owners" as if we're the problem.   We do not brandish our weapons without threat of imminent harm.  We do not draw on innocent civilians.   We do not intimidate or threaten with our weapons.    We keep them near us in case they are needed.

We want laws that protect us from criminals so that we don't need to use our weapons.   We want laws that lock up and throw away the key for criminals who use firearms in the commission of crimes.  We want the mentally ill to be treated and the population to be kept safe from them.   These are not calls of inaction!  These are calls to action!

Joe Biden has proven that he does not understand, not only the basics of firearm safety and proper use, but of his responsibilities and obligations as an elected official.   He believes that his is an "obligation to act" rather than an "obligation to act wisely".   The moral price of inaction is as expensive as the moral price of acting unwisely, Mr. Vice President.

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"We have an obligation to act," Biden said of America's politicians, after meeting with two parents of children who were murdered at Sandy Hook. "You all should know there is a moral price to be paid for inaction."
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Biden urges gun legislation in speech 10 miles from Sandy Hook

Joe Biden - Gun expert (said no gun expert ever)

Wow.  I can't think of worse advice to give someone who believes that their life is in danger.   This is the kind of advice that will get innocent people killed.   It just shows how ignorant this guy is when it comes to firearms.

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Biden indicated that he has given his own wife the same advice. “I said, ‘Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, put that double-barreled shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,’” he said, and urged viewers, in closing, “Buy a shotgun, buy a shotgun!”
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Biden to Woman: ‘You Don’t Need an AR-15; It’s Harder to Aim, It’s Harder to Use’

Lets forget for a second that Jill does not need to defend herself... That's what the armed Secret Service agents are there for.   But lets assume this advice is over 5 or 6 years old.

While a shotgun is a fantastic self defense weapon, there are several points that Joe, not only is ignorant of the issue on, but where his advice could land someone in jail.

1)  A double barrel shotgun can only hold 2 rounds.   When you fire both rounds, it is then empty and worthless for any use other than being a club.

This point is really significant because lots of things happen to your body when you're threatened.   Your adrenal glands will excrete adrenaline into your blood stream and create a physiological impact.   This impact is, loss of fine motor skills, anxiety and panic attacks, tremors and shaking, and other issues (such as increased heart rate which we won't go into).

Loss of fine motor skills (FMS): FMS is what allows a person to do things like put their keys in a locked car door.   Have you ever seen movies where the girl is being chased and (after she trips over some non-existent object and the sinister music goes into high gear) she finally reaches her car only to fumble the keys?   This is normal behavior when your body is full of adrenaline.  In the case of Jill, she would have just emptied her shotgun into the air in the hopes of scaring the bad guys off.   If they are not afraid of a woman with an empty shotgun, they will proceed into the house and it is now Jill's requirement to reload the shotgun.   Unless she has been trained on this procedure over and over (and over and over) until the action is muscle memory, there's a significant chance she'll not be able to reload in time to meet her attackers.  Basically Joe just told Jill to make loud noises and disarm herself to be safe.

2)  If the shotgun is supposed to be used for self defense, and is kept loaded in the house, one can assume that they are using slugs or self defense rounds.   I'll assume that Joe at least has the presence of mind not to use target ammo in a self defense weapon - but based on my previous point, since he wants her to only make loud noises with it, maybe this 2nd point is moot.   If he expects her to reload, then this argument would stand.

Firing a shotgun slug or protection round (which usually has large BBs, buck shot, or a combination of slug and shot) into an unknown direction (one is not aware of the target) then one runs a risk of injuring a bystander as these types of rounds have a much greater range and destructive force than target loads.   I'm not sure if that's violating rule number 1 or 2 of gun ownership... I think its 2  (I think rule 1 is "the gun is always loaded even when its not").   By telling Jill to fire indiscriminately, Joe is telling Jill that its OK to kill an innocent person in order to attempt to scare off an attacker.

3)  A shotgun is a great tool to use for home defense.   However, if Jill didn't live in a nice wooded area, but instead lived on a farm or ranch with lots of land, a shotgun is completely impractical for defending one's self at a distance (unless slugs are used, but then you have a magazine capacity issue of which I'll address).  

If Jill is beset upon by bad guys on her property, who are intent on entering the house  (let's assume that they're armed and not afraid of loud noises), Jill will have to wait until they're in range of this double barrel shot gun before she can use it to defend herself.  An AR-15, or some other long rifle, has the range and accuracy to hit a bad guy at 100 yards or more.  If their cover is 100 yards out, she can prevent them from moving closer - or at least delay them somewhat depending on surroundings.

Now, the size of a magazine is significant here.   A double barrel shotgun, we've already established, can hold two rounds.  A "standard" shotgun usually has a built in magazine that can hold 5+1 (5 rounds in the mag plus 1 in the chamber).   A "tactical" shotgun may have a removable magazine (like an MKA-1919 or Saiga) that can hold up to 10 rounds (more if you can find a larger magazine).    However, if you're in a firefight at a distance, and are limited to large shotgun rounds and small capacity magazines, your reload times may end up killing you.

An AR-15 has a "standard capacity" of between 20-30 rounds.   This is how the gun is designed and that's why its "standard".  "High capacity" by definition, would be a capacity greater than the original manufacturer's design (of 20-30).   When one is in a firefight, there is a guarantee that one will miss.... often.  It goes back to the adrenaline issue and FMS.   You need FMS to aim.   When you can't aim, you'll miss.   Another impact of adrenaline that will cause you to miss is the "panic and confusion" issue.  You will (not might) fire in panic rather than at the target.  If you're magazine is limited to 10 rounds, and you miss 9 times, you still need to reload if you have more than one assailant or you do not stop the assailant with a single round.    In the case of protecting a large area of land (back at the ranch), Jill will need to be an expert marksman or have enough ammo to keep the bad guys at bay.   A double barrel shotgun will do neither.

4)  A double barrel shotgun is (slightly) more clumsy to use than a handgun and much harder to store and retrieve effectively (unless you want rifle cases all over the house).  A handgun also has a larger capacity for ammunition (unless you're stupid enough to use derringers) because, when you miss (not "if" but "when"), you will not need to reload often to neutralize the bad guy.

Using a handgun for personal defense in the home is also a very good solution.   Single gun safes can be placed strategically and discretely in the house (depending on the size of your house and your perceived overall threat level), can be opened in less than 2 seconds, guns can be kept loaded (because they're locked up), and brought to bear quickly when the threat is already in the house.

Do NOT listen to Joe.  His advice will get you or someone else killed.  Hell - don't even listen to me.   Bring these comments to the home defense expert of your choice and let them tell you their opinion of Joe's (and my) comments.

Why do you believe them?

How many times have you heard (or said) "Nobody is trying to take your guns!" ?

I believe that the NRA is run by some pretty out of touch individuals.   I also believe that the government is run by some pretty out of touch individuals.   I've no love for either Obama nor LaPierre.

But - just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean that nobody's out to get ya!  

Obama's own DOJ folks are telling him that his plan to save the children won't work.  That Feinstein's plan won't work.   It won't do anything.  Nada.   It will diminish our ability to defend our homes, families, and country, but it will not impact crime.   That's not me talking - that is Obama's DOJ.   It won't work.

Apparently, they deserve a vote, but they don't deserve the truth.

But does Obama tell us this?   No.  Of course not.  Why?   Because he has no problem lying for one - we all know that; he's a politician.  I wouldn't trust Boehner farther than I could throw Christie (and if you trust Obama because he's a dem, or Boehner because he's a rep, then you've already lost and can stop reading).  But the bigger reason he's lying is because he knows something you don't.   His DOJ folks don't just tell him that it won't work, but they tell him how it *will* work.   And the only way it will work is to take the guns.

This isn't me being paranoid, this is the government's own white paper, which you can read for yourself here.

http://www.nraila.org/media/10883516/nij-gun-policy-memo.pdf

I apologize that its from the NRA web site, but I don't think the document exists on a government web site for public consumption.

Its all highlighted to showcase the points of the NRA, and there is other information in there that would show that a complete semi-automatic gun confiscation program *could* reduce mass killings.   Nobody wants to see innocent people shot.  Nobody - except the mentally ill.  Even criminals don't target malls, theaters, and schools - there's simply no profit in it.

But that said - bad things happen in this world.   Children are killed every day in cars.   Children are killed every day in their homes at the hands of violent parents, family members, or friends.  Children are killed by gangs.   Children are *joining* gangs.   Children are raped, beaten, murdered... the list of atrocities goes on.  And that's with or without guns everywhere in the world.

The point I'm trying to make is, reducing our ability to fight back by banning (and confiscating) "assault rifles" is going to hurt us more as a country than it will help us by shaving a fraction of 1% of the total violent crime that we, as a nation, face every day.   It will hurt us, not just because it reduces our ability to defend ourselves, but it opens the door to the next type of gun that they can ban to "really fix the problem".

I saw Bill Maher on some talk show saying how he is a "gun owner" not a "proud gun owner".  That being a "proud gun owner" is like being a "proud remote control owner".   Some people are proud gun owners and some people are proud remote control owners.   Maybe he's a proud Porsche owner - who knows - those are just his priorities.   Being proud of the gun(s) you own isn't bad, it just means that Bill Maher wanted to get a laugh at those peoples' expense... he's a comedian, not a psychologist.

However, he is a gun owner.  Why?   Because he feels the need to protect himself, his house, and his friends/family who visit his house.   He chooses a handgun because he feels that it is sufficient to protect him.   My guess is that it is a semi-automatic simply because those are the most popular.   However, he goes on to criticize those who would protect themselves with an AR-15.   It comes down to the right tool for the right job.   Both of those weapons (yes you can hunt with an AR-15, but lets be real here) are designed to kill people - one could argue that the handgun is worse since you can't effectively hunt with one - but that point is moot.

He has a gun because he is willing to take the life of someone who threatens him or his family.  That's what they're for.  That's why he has it.  I am willing to take the life of anyone who threatens me or my family - or a complete stranger if I am somehow present during the commission of a crime.  To say it any other way is disingenuous.

But he said something else (which is where this rambling diatribe was headed) about owning semi-automatic rifles with standard capacity (read: 20-30 depending on make/model) magazines or even large capacity magazines.   That some people believe that they need these to protect themselves from the government.  That these weapons are somehow ineffective against the government in the event that it must be physically challenged.

Nothing could be further from the truth.    There are hundreds of millions of people in this country and hundreds of millions of guns.    There are a few hundred thousand troops in this country and not all of them will take orders from a government during a civil war - this is just a historical fact.   The F-22s aren't as effective as he'd like to believe.   The population is already "dug in".   We already surround every single military base.   We already surround every single capitol building.

It isn't just a guaranteed right in our constitution that we may arm ourselves.   It is a responsibility that our founding fathers passed on to us through each generation by inscribing the words "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." in The Declaration of Independence so that their fathers, sons, and brothers didn't die in vain fighting for this country's freedom from the British.

My view isn't a call to abolish, my view is to alter.   To use our constitution in the manner that it was intended.  To vote out the corrupt and the self serving.   To vote out those who would lie to us so that they can increase their power and their bank accounts.   To vote in those who actually represent the people rather than the corporations that pay for their campaigns and get massive financial benefits in return.

But my view is to remain armed.  To remain vigilant.  To remain a threat to those who would pervert the ideals of The Constitution.  It would be my hope that the threat would never need to be exercised.   To give up our arms by saying "we couldn't possibly win against the government" is cowardice.   Its giving up, not just your rights, but the rights of all those who come after you.

Bill Maher, you're a coward.