Month: January 2013

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ISRA: It’s Just A Lull

January 7, 2013 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association sent out an alert last night regarding the State House version of the “Cullerton Gun Grab Bill”. They noted this appears to be the end of gun control moves for this session of the Illinois General Assembly. And before, you think you can relax a little they go on to note the session ends on Wednesday when the new session begins.

Read the alert below. If you can spare ISRA a few bucks, send some their way. Just like me you may not live in Illinois but you need to realize that they are, in military terms, that forward detachment ahead of our lines. Keeping more gun control out of Illinois or California or New York or Massachusetts where they have the most sympathetic legislators means we have a better chance of keeping it out of the rest of the states.


ILLINOIS HOUSE ADJOURNS WITH NO MOVEMENT ON GUN BILLS – BUT DO NOT BE MISLED.

As reported earlier, the House version of the Cullerton Gun Grab Bill was supposed to be debated before the House Judiciary Committee I at 2:00 PM today. The Chairman of the committee convened the committee, announced that there would be no gun bills debated for the rest of the session, then adjourned..

From all appearances, this was the end of the push for gun control in the legislature this session. But, don’t be confused – the session ends Wednesday. There is nothing saying that the legislature couldn’t call the bills anyway. So, be on guard and watch for alerts from the ISRA..

Also, be advised that the newly elected legislature, the 98th General Assembly, gets gaveled into action on Wednesday as well. With several pro-gun stalwarts leaving the legislature, and several brand new gun grabbers to contend with, the next session of the General Assembly promises to be turbulent times for law-abiding gun owners. We will update you as issues arise..

In short, the entire ISRA lobbying staff would like to say “THANKS” to all those gun owners who stood up this week and told the General Assembly, “NO. . . you can’t take our guns!” The huge response and reaction by the gun-owning public is largely responsible for the failure on the part of Senate President John Cullerton to move his massive gun grab this week..

We really hate to sound like a broken record, but protecting your rights this past couple of weeks has severely depleted our cash reserves. We honestly don’t like going to the well this often, but we badly need your financial help or we will not be able to field a full staff of lobbyists next week. It would be great if everybody receiving this alert could donate as little as $25, we would be able to continue full speed ahead against the Emanuel/Cullerton attacks on your gun rights. If you don’t step up to help protect your rights, nobody else will!.

On behalf of all law-abiding Illinois firearm owners, thanks for your continued support!.

P.S. Organizers are reporting record crowds at gun shows held this weekend in Marion, IL and the DuPage show in Wheaton.

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Not Just The Asheville Gun Show

January 7, 2013 by

Not surprisingly, reports of heavy crowds at this weekend’s gun shows abound. What I saw at the Asheville Gun and Knife Show was replicated across the country. Below is a bit of tab clearing on reports on the shows from both the media and from other gun blogs and forums.

From the comments section of Sipsey Street Irregulars. Mike couldn’t get to the Birmingham Gun Show so asked for reports.

From The AK Forum which has a great panoramic picture of the line waiting to get into the Portland Gun Show. It also has links to reports on other gun shows.

A couple of different reports from Arfcom. One here and the other here on the lone protester at the Roanoke Gun Show.

Now for some from the media:

Ontario, California

Lubbock, Texas

Northwest Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sandy, Utah

Spokane, Washington

Winston-Salem, North Carolina which also reports on some protesters at the show.

Orlando, Florida

Butte, Montana

Rochester, New York. This report makes sure to find “hunters” who don’t like handguns.

The list could go on and on. The bottom line is that people are voting with their feet and their wallets on the Second Amendment. They are going out to the gun shows and they are, to be frank, in panic buying mode.

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A Visit To A Post-Newtown Gun Show

January 6, 2013 by 7 Comments

I had seen reports of record attendance at other gun shows but today I saw for myself. I attended the Asheville Gun and Knife Show held at the WNC Agriculture Center. I was struck by three things at the show: the crowds, the prices, and the level of commitment to fight for gun rights.

First, the crowds. I arrived at the Ag Center just a few minutes after 8am. I was at the show to volunteer at the Grass Roots North Carolina booth. Having volunteered for their booth at the previous gun show, I was shocked at the crowds and by how early people had started lining up. One person told me he got on line at 5:30 this morning after he got off of work!

The picture below is the line-up to get in just before the 9am opening. The line stretched down one lane, across to another, and then up again. When I left at 12:30pm, there was still a decent sized line to get into the gun show!

To put this into more perspective, here is a satellite map of the Ag Center with the red line representing the line to enter at 9am. The small red circle represents the entrance to the Davis Event Center. The building is 300 x 150 feet and has 45,000 square feet of exhibition space.

As you might well imagine, it got crowded inside. At first, it was just the outside perimeter but as time passed every row was filled with people 3 to 4 abreast. You couldn’t zip up and down the rows checking out stuff at your leisure. You pretty much either stopped or moved with the crowd. You can see in the picture below what I’m talking about. I wish I had an overhead picture to show just how crowded it was.

There are probably a number of reasons for the record attendance. First, with all the calls from politicians and the media for greater gun control there is the urge to buy it while you still can. Second, you have people like Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell who are calling for gun shows to be banned in Asheville. While the Ag Center is not city-owned, Bothwell claims the land underneath is owned by the City of Asheville. Unfortunately for him, Session Law 2012-121 (HB 552) forced the City to cede title to the land underneath the Ag Center as well as remove any part of it from being within the city limits. Finally, it was the first gun show of the year and it was nice day.

Bob Owens asked me by Twitter whether they had any “fighting guns” left as he had reported none were available in his town. See Bob’s excellent post on the subject, “Something funny happened on the way to tyrrany.” He would be happy to know that you could find a number of AR-15s, some AKs, and a few odds and ends of other stuff. I noticed a handful of people selling their own ARs as well as stuff like FALs and Mini-14s.

As I said above, you could find AR-15s and AK-47s as well as magazines for them. However, the prices have sky-rocketed due to supply and demand. Plain jane AR-15s were selling for $1,500 and up. If you wanted an AR with all the bells and whistles (optics, rails, laser, bipod, etc.),  one dealer had them for $2,900. AKs had similar price jumps. I saw an AMD-65 which I had just purchased in September new selling for $439 selling for $1,000 used.

Magazine prices were outrageous. Used GI 30-round magazines were selling for $30. Strangely enough, they were selling new ones for the same price. The same dealer had Magpul PMAGs for $40 which were selling a month ago for $12.95. I did see Bulgarian AK-47 magazines for $30. It wasn’t just the dealers who were marking up prices on magazines. I did see one guy go by offering to sell Glock 17 and 22 magazines for $90 for two.

Not all prices were outrageous. I picked up two boxes of Hornady 6.8 SPC ammo for $20 each. Wolf primers were selling for $20 a box. Hunting stuff seemed price like it had been in the past. In terms of private sales,  I spoke with a young man selling his FN-FAL for $900 with scope and bipod which I found to be reasonable. If I didn’t have an FN-FAL and had an extra $900 hanging around, I would have bought it. Another guy had a pre-ban HK-91A1 for $3,500. While that may sound outrageous, it was the going rate before all the assault weapon (sic) ban talk started.

As I wrote earlier, I was volunteering for the Grass Roots North Carolina booth as I had at the last gun show. The difference was amazing even though the previous one had been just before the election. We signed up at least 10 new members by noon as compared to none the last time I was there. Secondly, people were very happy to sign GRNC’s petition to the North Carolina congressional delegation telling them they didn’t want any new gun control. We had 300 printed up and I’d estimate we had close to 250 signed by the time I left at noon. Those signing the petition were young and old, men and women, white and non-white. I spoke with people with nose rings and old men with canes. They were all similarly committed in their opposition to any new gun control.

Speaking with the people who stopped by the booth, I could tell they were ready to fight. I doubt any of them would voluntarily surrender their guns, magazines, or ammunition. Moreover, speaking with a former Force Recon Marine, he said he didn’t know any of his former colleagues who would enforce an order to confiscate firearms. He said they would rightfully consider it an unlawful order.

It was a good gun show except for the high prices on some things. However, I understand the laws of supply and demand. Moreover, the dealers selling now will have a hard time replenishing their stock for the next show. There will be a gun show in Waynesville at the end of the month. I may try to make that one just for comparison’s sake.

UPDATE: The gun show was covered by the local media.

Below is the video report from WSPA of Spartanburg, SC on the Asheville Gun and Knife Show. There were a lot of visitors from the Upstate of South Carolina at the show.

Reporters from the Asheville Citizen-Times also covered the show. Below is a video that they shot at the show which gives a good idea of how crowded it was. I love the comments by Phil Flack of PF Custom Guns regarding the so-called “gun show loophole.” You can read more of the story here which, unfortunately, goes overboard on “fairness” by soliciting comments from the gun prohibitionists.

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This Is Why You Need More Than An Arbitrary Ten Rounds

January 5, 2013 by 5 Comments

The gun prohibitionists tell us we don’t need more than 10 rounds in a magazine as if they are THE experts in self-defense and home defense. Tell that to the mother who shot an intruder five times as he cornered her and her twin nine year-old children. Though the criminal is now in the hospital in critical condition, he was still able to leave the scene on his own two feet.

While I’m a big revolver fan, I realize that they have their limitations and this story illustrates it. I’m not going to second guess this woman’s choice of weapon as it worked for her but it could have turned out much differently if there were multiple attackers.

The next time someone tells you that no one needs that much capacity, ask them what would have happened to this mother and her children if there had been two, three, or even four intruders. Do they really think the intruders would have let them live after seeing their friend shot? I certainly don’t think so and I certainly don’t think mothers and their children should be sacrificed on the altar of gun control because some politician felt the need “to do something”.

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Off To The Gun Show This Morning

January 5, 2013 by 1 Comment

I’m off to the Asheville Gun and Knife Show this morning to help man the Grass Roots North Carolina booth. It should be interesting.

I did pick up some extra cash in case I see any deals. I’ve heard the suggestion that people are selling some of their hunting firearms to raise cash to buy ARs and AKs. Maybe so, maybe not. Still I’d like to find a good used youth-model 20 gauge pump shotgun to convert into a home-defense shotgun for the Complementary Spouse. The only other thing on my buy list are primers, .223 brass, and 6.8 SPC ammo. It all depends on the price.

I should have a report later today on what I saw or didn’t see. The last time
I went to this show just before the election there were plenty of
magazines and AR-15s. I’d be surprised if I saw more than a few.

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Gun Banners Move To The Illinois House

January 5, 2013 by 1 Comment

The Illinois State Rifle Association issued an alert late last night concerning the moves by gun prohibitionists in the Illinois State House.

Rep. Eddie Acevedo has introduced an amendment that duplicates much of what was introduced earlier in the State Senate. It does have a twist in that it authorizes a contract with a non-public third party to create and administer a “registration eligibility verification system”. It is described as an “emergency contract”. I’m sure some friend of Rep. Acevedo or one of his Chicago cronies will benefit handsomely under this contract.

The ISRA Alert:


LATE BREAKING ALERT – NEXT VOTE ON SEMI AUTO BAN WILL TAKE PLACE SUNDAY
YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

After getting nowhere in the Senate, the gun controllers have taken their campaign to destroy your rights to the Illinois House. Earlier today, Amendment #1 to SB2899 was introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives. Sponsored by rabidly anti-gun Rep. Eddie Acevedo, the amendment would do two things to you:

1. It would pick your pocket to pay for the confiscation and destruction of your own guns.

2. It would ban more than 50% of the rifles and more than 80% of handguns owned by Illinois citizens.

THIS BILL WILL BE VOTED ON BY THE HOUSE JUDICIARY 1 COMMITTEE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON – YOU MUST ACT NOW!

To help save your guns, please contact the following Representatives and politely tell them that you are a law-abiding firearm owner and that you do not support SB2899 and that you expect them to vote the amendment down.

1. Rep. Elaine Nekritz,. (217) 558-1004 and (847) 257-0450

2. Rep. John Bradley, (217) 782-1051 and (618) 997-9697

3. Rep. Jill Tracy, (217) 782-8096 and (217) 223-0833

4. Rep. Michael Connelly, (217) 782-8028 and (630) 579-4848

5. Rep. Dwight Kay, (217) 782-8018 and (618) 307-9200

6. Rep. Lou Lang, (217) 782-1252 and (847) 673-1131

7. Rep. Sid Mathias, (217) 782-1664 and (847) 222-0061

8. Rep. André M. Thapedi, (217) 782-1702 and (773) 873-4444

9. Rep. Arthur Turner, (217) 782-8116 and (773) 277-4700

10. Rep. Ann Williams, (217) 782-2458 and (773) 880-9082

11. Rep. Michael Zalewski, (217) 782-5280 and (708) 442-6500

REMEMBER – THE AMENDMENT TO SB2899 WILL BE VOTED ON IN COMMITTEE SUNDAY AFTERNOON – START CALLING THESE REPRESENTATIVES BEGINNING SATURDAY AND CONTINUE CALLING THRU SUNDAY

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Is It Because The Northeast Votes Democratic?

January 5, 2013 by

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Dingy Harry as Rush calls him, really stuck his foot in his mouth today. Discussing the hold-up on the bill approving aid to New York, New Jersey, and other areas impacted by Superstorm Sandy, Reid made the comparison with Hurricane Katrina.

I won’t spoil the surprise. Just listen to the clip below. I’ll let you decide if Reid is an frigging idiot or what.

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More On The Journal News’ Release Of Permit Holders Names And Addresses

January 4, 2013 by 5 Comments

FoxNews did a story today about the response to Journal News publishing the names and addresses of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland Counties, New York. Putnam County is resisting the request to release this information and is getting support from Sen. Greg Ball (R-NY-40).

You can see a video of the report and the interview of Sen. Greg Ball here.

What is equally as interesting is the response by ex-cons and reformed burglars to this story. They say that this map published using Google Maps by the Journal News would have made their job easier.

“That was the most asinine article I’ve ever seen,” said Walter T.
Shaw, 65, a former burglar and jewel thief who the FBI blames for more
than 3,000 break-ins that netted some $70 million in the 1960s and
1970s. “Having a list of who has a gun is like gold – why rob that house
when you can hit the one next door, where there are no guns?

“What they did was insanity,” added Shaw, author of “License to Steal,” a book about his criminal career.

Bob Portenier, another former burglar turned crime prevention consultant, offered this:

“They just created an opportunity for some crimes to be committed and I think it’s exceptionally stupid,” said Bob Portenier, 65, a former burglar and armed house robber turned crime prevention consultant.

Professional burglars are always looking for an edge, and like most folks, they read the paper, said Portenier.

“Criminals are always looking for opportunity and words travels through the grapevine—burglars trade secrets and when you see something like that in the paper, that’s is something burglar’s are going to talk about,” Portenier said. “‘Did you see in the paper where all these people have guns and their addresses?’ and that kind of stuff, they’ll say.”

While some burglars may use the newspaper’s information to avoid guns, Portenier said others will target homes with guns. The newspaper’s decision could even lead to legally-owned guns proliferating on the street, he said.

“That’s one of the first things we’d check out—guns are on the top of the list of what you want to steal,” he said. “They can walk out with a shotgun and a couple of handguns and sell them on the street for $300 or $400 a pop. They can sell them to a gangbanger who ends up killing someone.”

If I was on the list and got robbed or, more likely, I lived next to someone on the list and got robbed, I’d be talking to a good young attorney who wanted to make a name for him or herself. I am sure that Gannett, the parent company of the Journal News, has sufficiently deep pockets to make it worth some attorney’s time and effort.

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GRNC On Gun Shows In Asheville

January 4, 2013 by

Grass Roots North Carolina has noticed Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell’s attempt to shut down gun shows in Asheville. They released the alert below last night.

If you happen to be going to the Asheville Gun Show this weekend, I’ll be there on Saturday morning volunteering at the GRNC table. Stop by and say hello.


Councilman fails to understand the law in the latest attempt to ban guns…

In one of the most ridiculous knee-jerk political reactions to recent shootings which have drawn national attention, Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell led an attempt this week to use an Asheville city ordinance that bans guns from city-owned property to block gun shows in the city. Bothwell seems to think that distorting this ordinance should be just the ticket to capitalize on national grief over the Newtown shootings in order to change gun laws, but there are a couple of major issues he failed to recognize before stepping into the limelight with his scheme.

State-wide uniformity of local regulations

One such issue Councilman Bothwell failed to take into consideration is that North Carolina General Statute §14409.40, “Statewide uniformity of local regulation,” states, in part:

“(d) No county or municipality, by zoning or other ordinance, shall regulate in any manner firearms shows with regulations more stringent than those applying to shows of other types of items.”

What this means is that gun shows may not be regulated any differently than any other type of show that is allowed to use the same facilities. In other words, if they wanted to ban gun shows, they would have to ban virtually any other kind of show from the property. State law prevents any county or municipality from treating gun shows any differently than an antique show or an agricultural event.

City or State owned?

One other issue that Councilman Bothwell and other city council members failed to understand is that the facility in question, the WNC Agricultural Center, is not owned by the city of Asheville! That’s right, the WNC Agricultural center is state-owned property, operated by the state. In their blind zeal to remove your rights as gun owners through any scheme they can cook up, the Asheville City Council is trying to enforce a city ordinance which bans guns on city property in a building which is actually owned by the State of North Carolina! What’s more, the WNC Agricultural Center isn’t even located inside Asheville city limits!

GRNC President responds

In a letter sent by GRNC President Paul Valone to Asheville City Attorney Bob Oast, Valone stated that these kinds of actions are clearly irresponsible and a direct violation of state law:

To: Robert W. Oast, Jr., Asheville City Attorney
From: F. Paul Valone, President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Re: Proposal to restrict gun shows at Western North Carolina Agricultural Center
Cc: Mayor

“Dear Mr. Oast:

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Asheville City Council is contemplating enforcing an ordinance in such a way as to restrict gun shows from the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center. Accordingly, please allow me to point out §14409.40, “Statewide uniformity of local regulation,” which says in relevant part:

“(d) No county or municipality, by zoning or other ordinance, shall regulate in any manner firearms shows with regulations more stringent than those applying to shows of other types of items.”

Our Director of Legal Affairs advises me that the only way Asheville could ban gun shows at the facility would be to ban all shows at the facility. If that is your intent, please let us know.

Otherwise, please be advised that any attempt to limit gun shows in violation of §14409.40(d) will be met not only political opposition targeting the City Council, but also legal action similar to what we filing this week against the city of Winston-Salem.

As one pundit recently pointed out, the similar case of Nordyke v. King kept Alameda County in court for thirteen years before they finally lost. I’m sure we wouldn’t want to tie up the Asheville City Council for such an extended period; it might distract them from the fine work they do.”

Show your solidarity!

You can do your part to stop this attempt to block your rights as gun owners. While the Asheville City Council attempts to use city laws to override state law, you can show your resolve by attending the gun show scheduled for the weekend of January 5th & 6th at the WNC Agricultural Center. Volunteers are needed to help at the GRNC table. If you would like to volunteer a few hours at the GRNC table, please contact Cliff Odom via email at inhisstepscliff@gmail.com .

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL: Use the contact information provided and deliver the message below

PLAN TO ATTEND THE ASHEVILLE GUN SHOW: You can make a difference by attending the Ashville gun show to show your resolve against these incredible schemes

Support GRNC!: GRNC needs your support to help combat the efforts against your rights as gun owners. Join or renew your membership! http://www.grnc.org/join-grnc/join-grnc-online

COURTESY COPY AND PASTE LIST

Note: Some Email programs automatically hyperlink addresses. Click Here to get a version you may copy.

mayorbellamy@avlcouncil.com, emanheimer@vwlawfirm.com, cecil@braveulysses.com, jandavis@avlcouncil.com, marchunt@avlcouncil.com, chrispelly@avlcouncil.com, gordonsmith@avlcouncil.com

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Hands Off Gun Shows”

Asheville City Council Members:

I urge you to respect the rights of North Carolina gun owners. Councilman Bothwell’s poorly considered attack on gun shows is both misdirected and illegal. North Carolina’s preemption statute (§14409.40) clearly does not allow you this latitude. Also there facts that the WNC facilities are state-owned and OUTSIDE of the Asheville city limits.

Any attempts to violate my rights as a gun owner will be remembered at the polls. I will be following your actions through the alerts of Grass Roots North Carolina.

Respectfully,

A Concerned North Carolina Voter

CONTACT INFORMATION

Mayor Terry Bellamy Contact Information:
Mail: P.O. Box 7148, Asheville, NC 28802
Phone: (828) 259-5600
Fax: (828) 259-5499
E-mail: mayorbellamy@avlcouncil.com
Personal Web site: www.terrymbellamy.com

Vice-Mayor Esther Manheimer contact information:
Mail: 11 North Market Street, Asheville, NC 28801
P.O. Box 7376, Asheville, NC 28802-7376
Phone: (828) 258-2991
E-mail: emanheimer@vwlawfirm.com

Councilman Cecil Bothwell contact information:
Mail: 54 Fulton Street, Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 713-8840
E-mail: cecil@braveulysses.com

Councilman Jan Davis contact information:
Mail: 209 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 253-5634
Fax: (828) 253-8029
E-mail: jandavis@avlcouncil.com
Personal Web site: www.jandavistire.com

Councilman Marc Hunt contact information:
Mail: 55 Cambridge Road, Asheville, NC 28804
Phone: (828) 273-2172
Email: marchunt@avlcouncil.com

Councilman Chris Pelly contact information:
Mail: 95 Cisco Road, Asheville, NC 28805
Phone: (828) 231-3704
Email: chrispelly@avlcouncil.com

Councilman Gordon Smith contact information:
Mail: 49 Euclid Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806
Phone: (828) 279-2551
E-mail: gordonsmith@avlcouncil.com

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CCRKBA – Bloomberg “Half Right”

January 4, 2013 by

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on the Jimmy Fallon Show and was complaining that the media doesn’t do a good job of reporting “firearm news” other than mass shootings. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms agrees and issued this statement.


BELLEVUE, WA – Anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was “half-right” when he told NBC’s Jimmy Fallon that there is “scant coverage” of other firearms news, because there is virtually no coverage of self-defense uses every day, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.


Bloomberg complained about the lack of attention paid by the press to “people who are killed by guns every day,” according to Yahoo News.


“Press coverage of justifiable gun use in self-defense is almost invisible,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “yet firearms are used in successful self-defense situations hundreds, if not thousands of times every day. It is disingenuous to talk about crime without mentioning the lives saved because an intended victim was armed.


“We know that hundreds of thousands of lives are saved in this country every year because someone had a firearm,” he continued. “In most cases, a shot is never fired, but the display of a gun sends criminals running.”


He noted examples such as the shooting at a Florida internet café last year, and the intervention by an armed citizen at the Clackamas mall in Oregon last month that stopped a gunman.


“Most of the time,” Gottlieb noted, “if they are reported at all, such stories rarely get beyond local media coverage, and quickly vanish from the headlines. It would be a refreshing change to see the press pay more attention when an armed citizen defends himself, his family, his home or total strangers by being in the right place at the right time.


“While Bloomberg would ignore these people,” he observed, “they really are first responders and they sometimes perform acts of remarkable heroism in saving innocent lives. The press only pays attention to tragedies while ignoring triumphs.


“Mayor Bloomberg is famous for telling half a story,” Gottlieb concluded, “and he wants the press to continue as his surrogate in this campaign to demonize firearms and the people who own them. In truth, gun owners are our friends, neighbors, doctors, the people who teach our children, and many others who have sometimes been called upon to use a firearm to save a life, and we out number him.”

Clayton Cramer used to do a great job in publishing media reports of defensive gun use. Unfortunately, he stopped doing this after getting sued by the charlatans at the now-defunct RightHaven, LLC. While I have checked the old Armed Citizen site, it doesn’t seem up-to-date.