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Lightguard Now Available For The 1911

May 9, 2012 by 5 Comments

Crimson Trace has just released their Lightguard weapon-mounted light for 1911s that don’t have accessory rails. At this time, it is only for 1911s from either Kimber or Smith & Wesson.

Here are the details from Crimson Trace:

Crimson Trace today announced the release of their eagerly-anticipated addition to their Lightguard™ platform for Kimber and S&W 1911 pattern pistols. The new weapon mounted light features an incredible 130 lumen output and the patented instinctive activation that made Crimson Trace the industry leader in laser sighting systems – simply hold the pistol in a normal firing grip to activate the light, with no additional buttons or switches to press. Available through their regular dealer network or from crimsontrace.com, the unit will retail at an MSRP of $199.

Whereas previously, 1911 owners would have required the services of a gunsmith to install a light on their non-railed pistols, the new 1911 Lightguard requires no gunsmithing and fits seamlessly over the trigger guard for snag-free operation. Operating on one, easily sourced CR2 lithium battery (included), the unit boasts an impressive 2 hour run time. With its narrow profile the Lightguard extends no wider than the slide, or longer than the dust cover on compact guns, holstering is a non-issue.

“Although the 1911 is justifiably the most popular handgun in the USA, it’s always lacked the ability to easily mount a light and, if you did, the options were large, encumbering choices that detract from both the function and look that 1911 fans crave,” said Kent Thomas, Director of Marketing for Crimson Trace. “Now, 1911 owners can take advantage of this life-saving self defense tool without permanently altering their guns in a slim, intelligent and highly functional way that befits the classic and trusted 1911 frame.” As an added bonus, the engineers at Crimson Trace designed the Lightguard to be fully compatible with their existing Lasergrips® including the hugely popular Master Series™ line.

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Quote Of The Day

May 9, 2012 by 4 Comments

In today’s Las Vegas Sun, there was a letter to the editor from a retired law enforcement officer by the name of Bruce Kerley. He didn’t specify where he served in law enforcement other than in “a Midwest suburban police department.” It well could have been a suburban Chicago department given his letter.

While the purpose of the letter was ostensibly to warn citizens to be careful when carrying a firearm especially in encounters with police, I think the true purpose of the letter was to complain about the great unwashed, i.e., you and me, being allowed to carry concealed.

His letter brought this response from “Emthree”:

I appreciate the difficult work performed by law enforcement officers in this country. But when an officer reaches the point where his concern for personal safety does not permit him to recognize the Constitutional rights of other Americans, it’s time to find a new line of work.

I could not have said it better myself.

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Win Free Guns!

May 9, 2012 by

Aaron at the Weapon-Blog has posted his monthly list of gun contests. Included this month are a chance to win the new M&P Shield, custom 1911s, and at least three AR-15s.

The link is here.

If you take advantage of any of these contests, please take some time to thank Aaron for this service.

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Obama Urged By Advisors To Veto Appropriations Bill

May 8, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Executive Office of the President released a statement yesterday regarding the House passage of the FY2013 appropriations bill for the Departments of Commerce and Justice as well as for science and related agencies. They are accusing the House of Representatives of violating the “bipartisan agreement to put the Nation on a sustainable fiscal course in enacting the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA).” They go on to say that the President’s senior advisors would be urging him to veto this bill.

From a taxpayer’s perspective this is rich given that the appropriations bill is below the level that Obama requested. The administration is accusing Republicans of making spending cuts that would mean cuts in services elsewhere in the budget.

However, what is much more interesting is their strong opposition to the budget rider proposed by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) which would cut the ATF’s funding for the multiple semi-auto firearm reporting requirement in the Southwest.

Prohibition on Multiple Sales of Rifles Reporting Requirement. Preventing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from requiring licensed firearms dealers in four border States to report information on the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same person would hamper efforts to address the problem of illegal gun trafficking along the Southwest Border and in Mexico.

This reporting requirement is of dubious legality and even more dubious utility in stopping firearms trafficking to the narco-terrorists in Mexico. That the Obama Administration would single it out for special mention speaks to their true intentions regarding firearms.

UPDATE: Bob Owen is reporting that even with the cut to the multiple rifle reporting requirement, ATF will be getting a $1 million increase in its budget over the previous fiscal year. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) has offered an amendment to the appropriations bill that would remove that same $1 million from the DOJ’s General Administration budget. This is the part of the budget that supports the AG’s office. Gowdy said he proposed doing this due to their stonewalling over Project Gunwalker. (corrected)

UPDATE II: The NRA-ILA released a statement urging members to contact their member of Congress regarding the Rehberg Amendment and the need to keep it in the appropriations bill.

It comes as no surprise that the Obama Administration put out a Statement of Administration Policy saying that President Obama’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto H.R. 5326 (FY2013 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill)…

Apparently, one of the reasons the President would veto H.R. 5326 is because of a NRA-backed general provision preventing funding for the new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting and registration plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). On Thursday, April 26, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations approved this general provision offered by Congressman Rehberg (R-Mont.), by a vote of 30-19.

Without this funding restriction, the BATFE could continue to circumvent the will of Congress by collecting information on multiple-sales of long guns by Executive Branch mandate and then, centralizing records of thousands of Americans’ gun purchases, without any legal authority.

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North Carolina Will Not Appeal Bateman Ruling

May 8, 2012 by

The state of North Carolina will not be appealing their loss in Bateman v. Perdue which found the emergency powers ban on off-premises firearms and ammunition to be unconstitutional. In speaking with Alan Gottlieb at the NRA Annual Meeting, I got the impression that it would be OK with the Second Amendment Foundation if North Carolina did appeal. The rationale is that a win in the 4th Circuit would help to expand Second Amendment rights beyond just the state borders of NC. As it is, while Bateman is a welcome win and will be cited in future cases involving the Second Amendment, it does not carry the same weight as if the ruling came from the Court of Appeals.

The Second Amendment Foundation released the following statement regarding North Carolina’s decision not to appeal the ruling.

BELLEVUE, WA – North Carolina’s failure to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s emergency power to ban firearms and ammunition outside the home during a declared emergency adds one more Second Amendment victory to the court record being established by the Second Amendment Foundation.

“When the anti-gun lobby claims that courts have not struck down any laws on Second Amendment grounds,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “they deliberately ignore the fact that the District of Columbia’s handgun ban was overturned. Likewise, Chicago’s ban was stricken by McDonald v. City of Chicago, as was the city’s ban on gun ranges. Maryland’s draconian regulations on concealed carry were struck down, and so was the Massachusetts ban on firearms ownership by legal alien residents. Part of Omaha’s registration law was overturned, and now North Carolina’s emergency powers gun ban has fallen.

“All but one of those cases,” he added, “were filed by SAF, and in the Heller case against Washington, D.C.s ban, SAF filed an important amicus brief.”

Gottlieb said North Carolina’s decision not to appeal their loss, “frees the foundation to file more legal actions against cities and states that still have laws on the books that violate our constitutional rights.” There are now at least six federal court victories to SAF’s credit, knocking down laws that infringed on Second Amendment rights, and Gottlieb is confident more are coming.

“The North Carolina case should send a message to other states and municipalities with similar emergency powers laws that violate civil rights that they should remove those restrictions immediately,” he stated.

“I want to thank our plaintiffs, our legal team, our staff and in particular, our members and donors who have made all of these victories possible,” Gottlieb said. “Three of these victories, including Bateman v. Purdue in North Carolina, affirm that the Second Amendment doesn’t stop at your front door, like the gun prohibition lobby claims.

“Winning firearms freedom one lawsuit at a time is a long, slow and expensive process, but SAF is committed to it,” he concluded.

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CCRKBA Weighs In On 60-Hour Shutdown Of Gun Sales In Pennsylvania

May 8, 2012 by

If you are a regular reader of Sebastian and Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned you already know that the Pennsylvania State Police are shutting down their Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) for upgrades to their computer system. As a result, there can be no firearms transactions from the evening of May 19th through the morning of May 22nd.

I think Alan Gottlieb of the CCRKBA is one the mark when he says that a) there are alternatives to shutting down the whole system and b) the PA State Police need to get out of this business and leave it to the FBI with NICS.

BELLEVUE, WA – A complete shutdown of the Pennsylvania Instant Check System by the state police for a period of 60 hours later this month for a system upgrade is “inexcusable,” the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“Closing down the background check system, and thus suspending all firearms transactions and concealed carry license processing simply allows the Pennsylvania State Police to obstruct the gun rights of law-abiding citizens,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb. “We are not reassured by a promise from the agency that it will expedite this computer system update in order to restore service as soon as possible. Access to the computers for background checks should not be suspended at all.

“Surely,” he continued, “the State Police can find alternate means of processing firearms transactions and permit applications while the upgrade is in progress.”

The system is scheduled for update from 10 p.m. Saturday, May 19 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 22. Gottlieb said this highlights a problem with such systems when there is no backup. Authorities can literally suspend the Second Amendment by turning off a switch or pulling a plug, he observed, and use whatever excuse they want.

“We live in an age when computer upgrades should be accomplished considerably faster,” Gottlieb said. “Locking down such a vital system that is important to so many Pennsylvania residents for 60 hours is not an ‘inconvenience,’ it’s an outrage.”

Keystone State gun owners will hold their 7th annual Second Amendment Liberty rally tomorrow, May 8 on the main steps in the capitol rotunda. This would be a grand opportunity for firearms owners to contact their state legislators, and the governor’s office, to express their dissatisfaction over the PICS problem, he suggested.

“Since the last time this happened in 2007, Pennsylvania gun owners have been pushing for an end to the PICS system,” Gottlieb noted. “It is time to put the State Police out of the background check business, and turn over this important job to the NICS system operated by the FBI. They do their upgrades faster, and they deal with the entire country.”

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Jeff Cooper On The Surprise Break

May 8, 2012 by 2 Comments

I stumbled across this clip of Col. Jeff Cooper explaining the trigger break to students at Gunsite. It’s worth viewing a few times to help increase your trigger control.

This, by the way, is the same Jeff Cooper who is accused by the hoplophobes at CSGV of being a racist and a misogynist. I don’t have to wonder what he would think of these gun prohibitionists but I do wonder what might happen if they had the balls to make those accusations to his face.

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Quote Of The Day

May 8, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Serious Gun Blog had a not so serious look at the choices gun owners face in this presidential election.

When all is said and done, and more will be said than done, a President will be elected. Either Mr. Obama, who hates guns unless they are used against bad guys like free citizens or Mitt Romney, who as a passionate supporter of the NRA cites as his favorite gun the Ruger 11 mm Glock by Smith & Bushmaster will be elected.

What does it mean for gun owners? Buy more guns now.

And ammo. They forgot ammo!

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23 Skidoo

May 7, 2012 by 2 Comments

23 Skidoo was a slang expression from the Roaring ’20s. It could just as easily be applied to the latest NSSF-adjusted NICS figures for April 2012 which represent the 23rd straight month in which they have increased when compared to the previous year.

The April 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 931,658 is an increase of 10.5 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 843,484 in April 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted April 2012 NICS figure of 1,416,074 reflects a 5.7 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,339,673 in April 2011.

To see the year over year data graphically for the last 12 months, go here. You can also see how April 2012 compares to the previous 12 years by going here.

It should be remembered that NICS checks are used in some states such as Kentucky, Iowa, and Michigan for CCW background checks on new and existing permit holders. Nonetheless, while NICS checks are not a direct correlation to firearm sales, they certainly do illustrate the growth trend in those sales because of their use for purchases background checks at the point-of-purchase.

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Extra Tourists This Summer In Philly

May 7, 2012 by 3 Comments

If the scuttlebutt is correct on CleanUpATF.org, the City of Philadelphia will be getting some extra visitors this summer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It seems that the ATF will be surging 20-30 agents into Philly for 120 days in an effort to tamp down violent crime. They could also be doing similar surges in Detroit, St. Louis, and Oakland.  VCA or Violent Crime Agency is a snide reference to the ATF and how they formerly called themselves the DOJ’s “violent crime agency”. The post by “FUBAR” is below.

The latest with the “mobile” Violent Crime Agency:

Here in Philly, we’re getting “surge” detail of 20-30 agents for 120days — June 4 through October 1 or so.

Mayor Nutter went to AG Holder and told him that Obama needs to win PA to get re-elected. The only way Obama can win PA is to get out the vote out in Philly and the only way he’ll get it is if something is done with the rampant everyday violence here. Holder called in the FBI and the VCA and basically, the FBI ignored Holder. VCA jumped all over it since it fits in with B Todd’s vision.

Agents from around the country have already received notification of the detail. An “advance” team of bosses and Intel people are in town already, identifying home invasion rings and Hobbs Act robbers so that when the detail agents get here, there will be targets for them.

Dare I note, if these targets already exist, why hasn’t anything been done yet? Why are we waiting? Well, I think that’s due to the fact that the USAO declines everything left and right, EVEN FBI cases. And who runs the violent crime section here in the Philly USAO? Kathy Stark — Tony Tropea’s old friend [more on him later].

Besides bringing in agents from out of town [let’s see, travel, per diem, hotel—what will that cost?] — and let’s not wonder, for now, what will happen to their cases Back Home — the Philly groups all have to give up a couple of agents for this surge.

The group made out of the out-of-towners will be run by PIO Steve Bartholemew. It’s the second time in his brief tenure as Philly PIO that he’s been made an Acting RAC. A little background on Steve — he worked Philly HIDTA with Tony Tropea under Sam Rabadi. The three of them got transferred to Trenton when one of their cases got screwed up. Tropea cried like a little bitch when he got transferred — tough Philly boy that he is. He’s gotten to spend his whole career in his home town and has a sense of entitlement that he deserves to get promoted without transferring. But I digress — Tony cried that he couldn’t do cases in Trenton [only 30 miles north of Philly] because he HAD NO LOCAL CONTACTS. He got back to Philly within weeks. Steve stayed in Trenton; Rabadi made it back to Philly as ASAC when Stankiewicz literally got caught trying to pull down his pants on Intel GS Jill Tucker during the Coatesville Serial Arson case [the same case which made national headlines].

Steve went on and passed the -14 AC. The Trenton RAC slot opened when Rabadi went to Philly, so Steve thought the job was for his taking. However, Mat Horace gave it to Kent Montford. Steve got upset and wanted an explanation from Horace, who told him he didn’t have the breadth of experience [I paraphrase — I don’t think Horace knows the meaning of breadth except maybe the lisping plural of bread?] So, Rabadi and Tropea, who had Philly SAC Mark “Cadillac” Potter’s ear, got Steve transferred into Philly as the **new** PIO [even though Philly hadn’t had the need for a PIO for two years] in exchange for our Philly based FIC [we now have an FIC who works 70 miles away in Reading].

Almost immediately upon his arrival in Philly, Steve was made acting GS of Tropea’s group, the band of merry thugs, while Tropea was anointed acting ASAC, replacing Russ May. This being the same Tropea who has worked his whole career in one city doing only HIDTA cases.. This, in the same city in which we have two GS’s with HQ experience, both of which has actually passed the GS-15 AC. Steve then got to work as a GS for almost a year. He went “back” to PIO back in January, but five months later, he’s given another group to run.

As for the local agents tasked for this surge, they will work in an “expanded” Tropea “super” group. This detail will work 0900 to 1700 [and I know exactly who will get those easy hours since Tropea’s group is known for “owning the late afternoon” –whereas the NYPD Street Crime Unit “owns the night”] and noon to 2200 or so. I don’t know who responds to those shootings after 2200 which seem to be the plurality here.

From a separate source, I hear that a surge is also planned for Detroit [Madea should get a kick out of that], St Louis and Oakland. How much money are we going to spend on details when it could be used to actually hire agents?

Yes, the new mobile Violent Crime Agency. It’s just that arson and explosives aren’t considered violent any more.

The Special Agent in Charge of the Philadephia Field Division is Sheree Mixell. In her former job, she was the Chief of the Office of Public Affairs where she served as ATF’s national spokesperson. This would seem to me the ideal place to run such a surge if you wanted to get the most media attention possible and to have someone experienced in dealing with the press. As to doing it for political purposes to help Mayor Nutter and President Obama, that does disturb me. Moreover, having these teams run by a Public Information Officer just doesn’t pass the smell test.

While the webmaster of CleanUpATF has since redacted some of the information with respect to the cities involved, I happened to see it before he did that. Nonetheless, it is not hard to figure out that it is Philadelphia.

(A quick translation of some of the acronyms above – RAC is the Resident Agent in Charge, GS is a Group Supervisor, HIDTA is high intensity drug trafficking area and PIO is Public Information Officer.)