U.S. Concealed Carry
“Armed American Report”
Visit Here for Membership Information!
Want to get your own copy every week? LEARN MORE HERE!
July 4th, 2008
“Independence Day”
Dear Friend,
This is the first newsletter that has actually fallen on Independence day, so I’m very pleased to bring you an ULTRA-American “Independence Day” edition of the Armed American report. The “Feature Article” is the FULL text of the Declaration of Independence. It’s really remarkable if you haven’t actually read all the way through it before.
I’ve also got an unbelievable video of the week, of some very cute little girls from Texas singing the National Anthem. And as always, we’ve got a great self-defense story, cartoon, and gear review.
Let’s get started!
-
== USCCA Laugh of the Week ==
See all of Chaim’s Cartoons at his website:
http://www.chaimcartoons.com/
-
== Highly Recommended ==
“HolsterTrade.com”
How many times has this happened to you?:
You buy a new holster, but after getting it, it isn’t all you hoped it would be. But you can’t return it, so you toss it somewhere, and there it sits….
Well I came up with this idea for a website where people could go and list holsters that they wanted to trade for other holsters that they could then try out, or just simply buy or sell them. It’s like ‘eBay’ without ANY fees, and designed and tailored SPECIFICALLY for people looking to trade, buy, or sell holsters.
Like I said- it would be a fee-less website in ALL senses of the word. No fees for listing, or when holsters were sold or traded, and I’d let users handle all the payment details and whatnot. All I would do is provide the medium for it all to happen…
Thus, HolsterTrade.com was born! ANYBODY can register to use it. But, just as a convenience to the members here at the USCCA, I’ve made it so that you already have accounts there! Just sign on with the same username / password as you use on the forum or the website. If you’re not a member, registration is easy.
For the main page, go here: http://www.holstertrade.com
-
The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that 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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
— John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
-
== Advanced Close-Range Gunfighting: ==
Shoot Them to the Ground Gunfighting
GABRIEL SUAREZ
USCCA GEAR REVIEW
Okay… my camera busted last week, so I don’t have a very good picture for you of this week’s gear review because the camera I’m using is ancient. This thing is seriously one of the first “cheap” digital cameras to have been produced… I think it was $40, and that was several years ago… if you can imagine such a thing. But, through it’s messed up display, and after about ten tries, I got a picture that doesn’t look TOO bad… so here it is:
As you can see, the subject of this week’s gear-review is a DVD. It’s called “Advanced Close-Range Gunfighting: Shoot Them to the Ground Gunfighting”. It just happens to have been made by Gabe Suarez- one of the (in my humble opinion) most prevalent tactical instructors ever born!
If you know anything about Gabe Suarez, you know two things: One, that he’s a SUPER nice and friendly guy- you’d never guess it by the fierce warrior-look on his face on the cover of this DVD! Secondly, you know that he has a way of communicating on a down to earth, easy to understand level. This makes for a VERY good result when you’re talking about training material- especially DVDs.
Now, onto the DVD itself.
It’s an hour and eight minutes long, which surprised me at first, because I didn’t really see what you could cover for that amount of time. I also wondered if my attention-deficit-disorder-prone mind could REALLY stay interested in this for over an hour… Well, I was proven wrong. Not only that, but I found myself rewinding to certain parts to watch for a second time. I’ll tell you which parts in a moment. Then later, I rewound to some other parts to show my wife when she got home.
Okay, so what material does this DVD cover? Well, it covers a LOT of things, and you can find the complete description on Mr. Suarez’s website right HERE. More importantly, here is what I learned from this DVD:
1) I learned the fastest and safest way to switch my pistol from my right hand to my left hand. I’m not saying I’ve perfected it… FAR from it, but Gabe shows you how to practice it, then does it in Slow-Motion, then again in Super-Slow-Motion to make practicing easier. Gabe teaches that you don’t have ‘weak’ or ’strong’ sides. You just have your left and right sides, and you can be trained to use both equally well. I actually really like that philosophy, and I’m working on it, ammo permitting of course!
2) Moving off the ‘X’ (the ‘x’ is where you are standing when the action begins). We’ve all heard of this, ‘moving off the ‘x’- at least, most of us have. But I’ve always kind of taken it to mean “Do whatever you physically can to make yourself a moving target when you go into condition red”. But, in this DVD, Gabe actually goes over how to properly do it in a very ‘micro’ sort of way- down to exact foot placement. He also teaches this brilliant ‘fake out’ move to use when you move off the ‘X’. He says that it’s a LITTLE slower, but depending on the situation, it could prove very effective.
‘Micro-teaching’ is probably a pretty good way to describe Gabe’s style of instructing. For example, if he were teaching you how to do a back-flip, he wouldn’t just say, “Okay, watch carefully” and do a back flip. He would explain the thoughts you should be having, your foot placement, weight transfer, and which muscles you should be developing in order to do a back flip better.
There are many other techniques that I found incredibly useful, such as how to make yourself a moving target while in a confined space, how to shoot at a person who is standing within contact distance behind you, and how to practice point-shooting.
As with any piece of training material, I’ve also heard of some of the stuff that he talked about and explained before, but it’s always fun to watch a guy as skilled as Gabe practicing even trivial drills- he’s very fluent with a pistol, that is for sure!
Well that about wraps this review up. For the price I’d say you can’t go wrong with this DVD. You certainly can’t practice enough, but you CAN practice the wrong stuff, and material like this helps greatly in countering that by making your practice time more efficient and more effective.
If you want to learn more about this DVD or even get your own copy, go HERE. I recommend it.
-
== USCCA Members-Only ==
Forum Highlights
Every Member has complete access to the USCCA forum, which is constantly being accessed by members sharing information, knowledge, insight, and fun. With well over sixty-thousand posts and growing by the hour, this is one heck of a valuable resource!
Airline Approved Pistol Case? by ‘DocRock’
I am traveling to Texas by airline in a few weeks and would like to bring my gun. Anyone have any airline approved pistol cases they like? How about advise for flying with a pistol? Would anyone recommend not doing it because it is too much of a hassle or other? I have checked the federal requirements for flying with a gun and with the airlines. Those seem do-able. How about opinions on the likelyhood of someone stealing my firearm from baggage? Thanks in advance. I really appreciate the help. Steve
************
Knife With a Charge by ‘baptistjihad’
http://www.waspknife.com/about.php
Knives have always scared me. This would hurt really bad.
************
Spousal Paranoia Comments? by ‘lgregor’
Is there anyone out there married, or even living with a significant other, that they don’t quite understand the need to protect and misguided as it is label it as paranoid?
I am just curious both when folks 1st started carrying as well as those veterans that have been for years, how did/does your spouse react?
************
Changing carry guns by ‘atlas176176′
I am considering changing carry guns. Maybe I should say “considering buying a new gun to carry.” No sale of my current gun is pending.
I carry a Springfield XD 9mm (service model, 4″ barrel). I like the gun very much. When I bought it in February ‘07, I was torn between it and the Springfield XD Compact (which is in .45 ACP). In the end I chose the 9 mm because the ammo would be cheaper.
I carry IWB at about 2:45-3:00 when not in a suit (on suit days at the office it sits in my desk drawer and leaves with me in my briefcase), and the shortened grip of the XD Compact is much easier for me to conceal and more comfortable too.
What do you guys think of making the switch? The .45 operates the same as the 9 mm, so I won’t have to retrain myself on gun maintenance and malfunction drills. Same look and grip angle, etc, so no big psychological adjustment when I pick it up. And it fits all the holsters I have for the 9 mm.
Lots of upsides, with the only downside being, of course, the money out of pocket. And I would eventually sell the 9 mm, just not right away. It’s not like you can just put it on ebay, ya know?
So what say you? Go for the .45 to get easier concealment/more comfort?
************
NIHL - Noise Induced Hearing Loss by Cohodas
While doing some research I came across this information I think will be useful to shooters:
Quote:
sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). These sensitive structures, called hair cells, are small sensory cells in the inner ear that convert sound energy into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged, our hair cells cannot grow back.
Scientists once believed that the pure force of vibrations from loud sounds caused the damage to hair cells. Instead, recent studies have shown that exposure to harmful noise triggers the formation of molecules inside the ear that can damage or kill hair cells.
Quote:
In a recent study, however, the antioxidants in salicylate (aspirin) and Trolox (vitamin E) were given to guinea pigs as long as three days after noise exposure and still significantly reduced hearing loss. These results suggest that there is a window of opportunity in which it is possible to rescue hearing from noise trauma. Scientists hope to begin clinical trials with humans with the goal of reducing NIHL.
The entire article can be found at the National Institute of Health. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp
************
Dog by ‘Cruiser99′
Howdy all, Just thought I would throw this in. My wife and I run a small lawn mowing service on my days off. Yesterday we were in a closed community getting ready to mow by the lake. We both heard growling. We looked up and saw a large Husky looking at us from about 20 feet away. I told my wife not to look at him and slowly walk to the truck. We moved and he growled louder. I half unholstered my XD and kept moving toward the truck. I got between my wife and the dog. We did make it to the truck ok. We sat inside until the dog wandered off. Scary. First time I have ever reached for my weapon. Wonder what would have happened if I would have been forced to shoot.
************
-
== The Cactus Cutie’s sing ==
The National Anthem
USCCA VIDEO OF THE WEEK
== “Tim-spiration” of the Week ==
USCCA PHOTO OF THE WEEK
-
USCCA QUOTE OF THE WEEK
- Sometimes a good quote will inspire or motivate you. Sometimes, they’ll just put a smile on your face! Here is the quote for this week…
““Liberty is the right to choose. Freedom is the result of the right choice.””
-Anonymous
-
Self Defense Story OF THE WEEK
- Every day, thousands of Armed Americans use their firearms to preserve human life. Let this section of my newsletter serve as a record of this fact!
- “Homeowner shoots, injures intruder on Northwest Side”
found at:http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html
A 21-year-old man who police said broke into a Northwest Side residence late Monday night was critically wounded after the homeowner shot him once in the chest.
The man, who was not immediately identified, was taken to University Hospital, San Antonio Police Sgt. Dave Berrigan said.
Berrigan said officers responded about 9:30 p.m. to the Retreat at Ingram Hills subdivision in the 6500 block of Arrid Pass after receiving two emergency calls, one for a break-in and the other for a shooting. A woman who lives at the residence was home alone with her 18-month-old baby when she heard noises, Berrigan said.
The woman looked through the front door peephole and saw a man trying to break in, Berrigan said.
A few minutes later, after calling authorities, the woman heard sounds at the garage door, which was closed. She then called her husband, who arrived within minutes with a 9 mm pistol, Berrigan said.
The husband entered through a back door, which remained ajar, and the would-be intruder followed. The two had a brief altercation in the kitchen, and the homeowner told him to leave.
But instead, the intruder tried to “buck up against” the homeowner, Berrigan said, at which point he was shot in the chest.
“They picked the wrong house tonight,” Berrigan said.
Neighbors Sharon and George Carter said a man also tried to break into their house, which sits directly behind the home where the intruder was shot, minutes before the shooting. The couple heard “scuffles” at the living room window three times and then realized that a portion of their back fence had been knocked over.
“When I was picking the fence off the ground, I heard the shot,” said George Carter, 70.
The neighborhood, which residents said usually is quiet, was alarmed by the shooting.
“I’m not going to sleep tonight,” said Sharon Carter, 63.
-
Closing Thoughts
Well, that’s all for this week, folks! I want you to all have an awesome Independence Day. Be safe out there!
Tim Schmidt
Founder - U.S. Concealed Carry
http://www.usconcealedcarry.com
