Ruger sponsored this video of a beginner’s guide to IDPA. Shooting an IDPA match or two is on my list of things that I’d like to do this year.
Another great resource is the PowerFactor Show which is available as both video and audio podcasts. It was started by Pacific NW shooters Steve Sopfi and Rick Brenneman. They have added Caleb Giddings to their lineup as a co-host. It is part of the Gun Rights Radio Network and the videos are available on iTunes, Zune, and YouTube.
Officer Daniel Harless, the Canton, Ohio police officer who threatened to kill a CCW permit holder during a stop as seen in the video below, was fired yesterday by the City of Canton.
As reported in the Canton Repository:
Bill Adams, president of the Canton Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union that represents Patrolman Daniel Harless, confirmed that city Safety Director Thomas Ream ruled that Harless is no longer a member of the city’s police force.
Ream issued a three-page ruling dated Tuesday.
“It is quite clear that (Harless’) actions represented a pattern of behavior where inappropriate verbal abuse and threats of death or great bodily harm of the various complainants occurred,” Ream wrote.
“This escalating pattern of potentially dangerous behavior cannot be justified or excused and clearly illustrates the seriousness of the departmental infractions.”
The story goes on to say that Harless would appeal his dismissal and that he has had undiagnosed PTSD for the last 8 years after an incident where his finger was bitten severely by a suspect.
The Canton Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union representing Harless, has asked for an extension of his hearing due to the PTSD. While not explicitly stated, the story implies that they are standing foursquare behind him in his appeal and many other officers have donated sick leave to Harless while he was on suspension prior to his termination.
Tolerance of bad actors like Harless entrusted with the public’s safety by police unions and fellow officers diminishes the public’s respect for all officers. Rather than propping him up, they should be pushing to get someone so obviously unstable off the force and into treatment (if really needed). Officers like Harless need to be out of law enforcement for everyone’s good. As Thirdpower notes about Harless’s PTSD:
He threatens a citizen w/ death and the union is still acting the apologist for him. Sad. If his PTSD is this severe, he is a threat to himself and others and should be institutionalized thereby making him a prohibited person.
I am reminded of the Honor Code at West Point which states “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” The point of that Code is that you are just as guilty of lying, cheating, or stealing if you know about it and do nothing. Likewise, in this case, tolerating someone who abuses their authority is just as bad as abusing that authority yourself.
UPDATE: Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned speculates that the City of Canton terminated Harless to protect themselves against a potential lawsuit.
I wish I could say this is a case of a town doing the right thing, but I suspect the primary reason is that Daniel Harless was a walking potential 1983 suit just waiting to happen, and I would point out that 1983 allows one to sue all the way up the chain of command.
A Section 1983 suit is for the violation of a person’s civil rights by someone acting under State authority and traces back to the Civil Rights Act of 1871.
I stumbled across this really interesting video of a reunion of both Union and Confederate veterans from the Battle of Gettysburg. The reunion was the 75th reunion in 1938. The most touching part is when they were going to re-enact Pickett’s Charge and the Union vets ended up surging towards the Conferates and hugging them.
With the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor just past, it is a reminder of the sacrifices that all veterans have made for this country over the years.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation paired with social media monitoring service Radian6 to search blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites to get an idea what brand of gun people were desiring for Christmas. They used the search words “Christmas”, “firearm or gun”, and the names of leading firearms manufacturers. The chart below shows the results.
The marketing managers at Glock and Ruger have got to be happy with these results. Colt should be happy that they placed third on this list as their proportion of the civilian market is, I believe, much less than its ranking here.
Thanks to a Facebook post by Rob Morse of Slow Facts blog, I just found this YouTube video which really puts the Federal debt into an understandable form.
The gun prohibitionists at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence are seemingly upset by Weer’d Beard’s organization of gun bloggers to do more than just light a candle to combat criminal violence.
I don’t think any of us found the Brady Campaign’s Too Many Victims campaign that funny. It think the majority of us found it sad and pathetic that they thought they could fight criminal violence by standing around with a candle.
In news from the Second Front for the fight for the Second Amendment comes this from Florida. According to Knife Rights, Florida St. Senator Thad Altman (R-24) has filed a bill that would reserve regulation of knives to the State Legislature and pre-empt all municipal regulations of knives and cutting instruments.
As promised in our New Years message, we are pleased to announce that another Knife Rights bill is now in play. Florida State Senator Thad Altman (R- District 24) has filed a Knife Law Preemption bill developed by Knife Rights with cooperation of our friends at Florida Carry. We’d also like to acknowledge former president of the NRA, Marion Hammer, the executive director of United Sportsmen of Florida, who was very helpful in this effort. SB 1732 is “a bill…providing legislative intent to preempt the regulation of knives and weapons to the Legislature.” You can review the bill here: www.kniferights.org/SB-1732_Knife-Preemption_Altman.pdf
This bill builds upon the success of last year’s revised Florida firearms preemption law that provided for painful penalties to political jurisdictions that were previously ignoring the existing firearms preemption law. Our Knife and Weapons Preemption bill voids local laws and regulations and includes these same severe penalties if local jurisdiction were inclined to ignore this expansion of state preemption to cover knives. This puts real teeth into this bill, ensuring “the repeal of rules, ordinances, and regulations prohibited by the [new] section [of law].”
Two encompassing definitions are provided in the bill for “common pocketknife” and “knife” that are otherwise referenced in Florida law without constructive definitions. A “common pocketknife” is defined as “any knife that can be carried in a pocket, purse, handbag, backpack, briefcase, or sheath, or similar container.” “Knife” is defined as “a cutting instrument that includes a sharpened or pointed blade, including a sheath knife commonly used for fishing, hunting, outdoor recreation, or work activities.”
We are working diligently to get a companion bill filed in the Florida House of Representatives, which is generally required to assure passage. We will keep you posted.
It is interesting to note that Florida Carry and former NRA President Marion Hammer are assisting in their efforts. It is encouraging to see primarily gun groups working with knife groups to broaden protection across the board for the Second Amendment. This is the equivalent of hunting groups working with fishing groups to protect both game and fish from the PETAfiles.
There have been many creative responses to the Brady Campaign’s politicization of the anniversary of the shootings in Tucson. Yesterday, through the inspiration of Weer’d Beard, many blogger featured pictures of a lit candle and their means of protecting home and hearth. A couple have gone even beyond that.
The first comes from bloggers Joe Huffman and Barron Barnett who produced a video featured Joe’s daughter and members of the Lewiston Pistol Club.
The second comes from blogger Sean Sorrentino who held a counter-protest in Raleigh, NC across from the United Community Church of Christ. His counter protest garnered interviews from both the Raleigh News and Observer – the largest newspaper in eastern North Carolina – and from NBC17.
Sean writes about both of these stories here and here. Sean lives in Wake County which has a population of over 900,000 people. One person with an effective counter protest garners as much attention from the media as approximately fifty from NCGV.
The creative counter protests seem to be irritating the anti-gunners. As Miguel at Gun Free Zone reports, one south Florida anti-gun lefty blogger equates our countering the Brady Campaign’s plea for attention with that of the Westboro Baptist Church. That’s right – since we believe in self-defense and protecting our loved ones – we are branded as racist, ne’er-do-well homophobes. If that pathetic response is the best they can do, we’ve won.
UPDATE: Barron and Joe’s video generated many comments on the CSGV Facebook page including Joan Peterson’s “OMG”. Barron provides an admirable fisking to their comments here.
Normally, one would reflect on their goals for the past year right around New Years. I’m just a week late. Life goes on!
1. Attend the NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh. I really enjoyed the show in Charlotte. The difference will be that this time I’ll attend as a blogger.
I can say that I not only did this but I had a great time doing it. I met many of the other bloggers whom I had read over the year for the first time. I got to attend get-togethers put on by the NRA-ILA and the Second Amendment Foundation plus Breda’s Gunny After-Prom Party, Iain’s Tilted Kilt bash, and SayUncle’s impromptu cocktail party. It was a 9 hour drive each way but darn well worth it.
2. Take a training class. Last year I got my North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit and it is time to get some more advanced training. There are lots of options available within a day’s drive so I don’t have much of an excuse for not doing it.
I was lucky enough to have been invited to the LuckyGunner Memorial Day Blogger Shoot which allowed me to get a good half day of training with Tom Givens of Rangemaster. This was an appetizer for more training which I followed up in October with a full day at TigerSwan. Two differing approaches but both were valuable.
3. Shoot more often. This goes along with number two above. I’ve got the ammo and now is the time to use it!
I don’t think I was as successful in meeting this goal as I would have liked. Taking time to go to the range can be a problem sometimes which reemphasizes the need to do daily dry fire training. While it doesn’t substitute for actual live-fire training, it is essential to build speed and refine technique.
4. Buy a 1911. I can’t think of a better way to commemorate the centennial of John Moses Browning’s masterpiece than to do this. While I have a Argentine Ballester Molina or, as my late friend Milo called it, a ballerina molester, it isn’t a 1911. I don’t know which one (or two or three) that I want to buy yet but am open to suggestions.
While I had a Springfield Range Officer on order which I cancelled for taking too long and still hope to obtain a Ruger SR1911, I stumbled across a Colt Wiley Clapp LW Commander at a local dealer. He gave me a good deal and I went home with not only a 1911 but a Colt. Enough said on meeting that goal!
5. Drink more whiskey. Obviously I won’t be doing this at the same time as numbers two and three above but life is too short to not to enjoy a good bourbon now and again. The Wall Street Journal ran a list of “cultural resolutions” from some well-known people on Friday and this was on fashion designer Nanette Lepore’s list. It makes sense to me.
When my internist said that one of the ways to improve my HDL cholesterol was to drink more alcohol (but of course in moderation), I knew I had a good doctor! And I have tried to follow doctor’s orders. It hasn’t always been good whiskey as I have also discovered rum and Tiki drinks. The Complementary Spouse and I have enjoyed going through Beachbum Berry Remixed cocktail book and picking out cocktails to try.
6. Keep blogging. I only started this blog in May 2010 and have been astounded by its growth. It has been exciting and rewarding on a personal level. My promise to you is I will try to keep finding and publishing important information as well as some things which just tickle my fancy.
As to whether I accomplished this, I leave it up to you the reader to decide if I succeeded. I have enjoyed this and definitely plan on continuing this blog for as long as I have readers.
The Students for Concealed Carry on Campus can be depended on to put things in perspective – and with snark and sass!
Brady Campaign lighting candles inside churches today to remember victims of gun violence. Of course, fires claim five times as many lives by accident every year than firearms, so let’s hope they don’t drop one.
And like the good students that they are, they provide backup validation of their claim here. They point to the bottom of page 19 and the top of page 20 as the place to find the relevant data.
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