U.S. Concealed Carry
“Armed American Report”
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November 14th, 2008
Dear Friend,
Good morning!
I have an excellent issue of the Armed American Report for you this week- let’s get right into it!
== USCCA Laugh of the Week ==
See all of Chaim’s Cartoons at his website:
http://www.chaimcartoons.com/
“If You Bought a Gun This Week…”
“…Gun owners were soundly defeated in this election….
…We must examine why this happened…”
by Kathy Jackson
If you bought a gun this week, you’re not alone. While exact figures aren’t yet available, gun stores across the nation reported record-breaking sales in the days following the national election.
“Sales have been… well… brisk. Maybe a better word would be insane. We’ve sold out of everything three times over, and we’re bringing in more guns as fast as we can find them and call in favors. If you’re waiting for something, let’s put this in perspective. I talked to Stag the day before the election and they had received orders for 6,000 rifles in the last few days. They were out 4 weeks [backordered], and that was before” the election, reports Larry Correia of FBMG, Inc., a gun store near Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] When I talked to him Saturday night, he added that sales had only gone up since the blog entry that quote came from was written, and that Saturday had been their biggest sales day in the history of the store.
FBMG was not alone in that. According to an AP report, on Election Day, Franklin Gun Shop (near Nashville, Tennessee) experienced their biggest sales day since the shop opened eight years ago. Guns & Gear (Cheyenne, Wyoming) also set a one-day sales record last Tuesday, only to break that mark on Wednesday.[2]
Even before the ballots were counted, firearms sales — measured by the number of background checks run through NICS — were up 10 to 15% over the numbers reported in October 2007. “The increase in firearms sales was predictable,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “It’s clear from President-elect Obama’s voting record, and the promises that he continues to make, that gun control will be coming back to the White House. Eloquent rhetoric notwithstanding, sportsmen, gun owners and prospective gun owners recognize this and are reacting accordingly.”[3]
Blah, blah, blah … so far, I haven’t told you anything you didn’t already know, assuming you’ve been in a gun store at all this week. You’ve seen the lines and felt the tension in the air. Pretty much everywhere, gun owners are asking themselves, “Now what?”
Here’s my plan.
Don’t Panic. Gun owners have seen and endured worse political times. Besides, if worse comes to worst — we’ve got the guns. What is there to panic about?
Admit the Truth. The truth is that there’s a gun-grabber in the White House. And the party most traditionally associated with the loss of firearms rights is most definitely and assuredly in complete control of both the House and the Senate. And the majority of the voting population put them there.
Admit the Whole Truth. The rest of the unpalatable truth above actually contains a germ of hope. It’s this: that party “most traditionally associated with the loss of firearms rights” isn’t actually all that energized about grabbing guns this time around. Sure, Obama’s extremely anti. But the rest of the crew, not so much. After all, firearms ownership is not the private property of conservative Republicans: it belongs to Americans of all political stripes.
Celebrate the Good. Gun owners this week have done more to spur the national economy than all the planners of stimulus checks ever hoped for. That’s good for the economy and good for retailers and good for manufacturers … and it frightens the anti-firearms brigade. What more could you want out of life? True to form, some crotchety types are already griping about the positive news that a lot of people are buying guns. Get over it, guys. The surge in gun ownership is a good thing. You think the politicians aren’t watching the numbers? Those people live and die by the numbers! Welcome the new gun owners. They may well be our salvation.
Embrace Diversity. Despite what the professional anti-firearms-rights folks want everyone to believe, firearms owners come in every color, adhere to every religion, and live in every part of the country (both rural and urban). One participant in an online discussion group wrote, “At the Tulsa Gunshow yesterday I saw the most unlikely mix of people buying hicap pistols and rifles, and lots,and lots,and lots of mags and ammo. Yuppies, gays, lesbians, old ladies (black and white), Hispanics, gothics and even a smelly neo hippy vegan or two all buying guns and all of them with very determined looks on their faces. I saw people who I would never have imagined in a million years carry AR15s, SKSs, M11/9 clones, G3 Clones over their shoulders and often carrying a case of ammo.”[4] This is the way things are supposed to be. Firearms rights belong to every American.
Don’t Be Selfish. Okay, now we’re really getting into it. I don’t mean, “Don’t be selfish and cling to your gun (and your religion)…” Cling away! But don’t be selfish in planning for the future. If you are one of the bajillion gun owners who bought a gun this week, it’s probably because you’re worried about the future of gun rights in this country. So now is not the time to plan only for your own firearms collection. Start planning now for the firearms your children and grandchildren will own. If you want your children or grandchildren legally able to inherit the firearm you purchased this week, what are you doing to make that happen?
Get Active. So, admit the truth. You bought a gun (or two or three) this week because you are worried about the future of firearms rights. Now’s the time to put that fearful energy to better use than simply “clinging” to the physical objects in your safe. Cling to the idea of gun ownership by throwing some money and time into your local gun rights organizations. Get on their email lists so you know what’s going on. Write to your representatives (yes, even the ones playing for the other team) and welcome them into office. Let them know you’ll be watching them. If you’ve never visited your state capitol, plan to make a trip one day soon and let your politicians know what issues motivate you to vote.
Remember All Politics Are Local. The old adage is more true today than it ever was before. Despite the huge uproar that a national election makes, local assaults on freedom happen all the time. The ones that succeed are copied elsewhere and eventually appear on the national stage. The ones that fail … fail. And the old bit about fighting City Hall? Let’s turn to Jeff Cooper for that one: “It is interesting to hear certain kinds of people insist that the citizen cannot fight the government. This would have been news to the men of Lexington and Concord…” When gun owners take care of local politics, national politics are much friendlier toward gun owners.
Take the Long View. In the short term, we may need to batten down the hatches and prepare to battle a storm of ill-conceived political notions with dreary work like writing letters, making phone calls, and lobbying our representatives. In the long term, though, our firearms rights depend upon the number of other gun owners and voters we can bring to our cause. Whenever an experienced gun owner takes a new shooter to the range, our firearms rights become just that much more secure. And here’s the good news: the work it takes to bring a new gun owner into the fold is fun! All you need is a firearm you’re willing to share (got a .22 in that safe?), a commitment to safety, and a willing attitude.
Take a Friend to the Range. Okay, so you’re convinced that the future of gun ownership lies in the hands of new shooters everywhere. Wonderful! Now turn to your friends and neighbors and get them to the range. Yes, even those icky liberals. Especially those liberals. If every person who reads these words takes just one friend to the range, creating a single new shooter every month for a year, our firearms rights would be in good hands. It’s up to you.
Sharpen Your Own Skills. If you’re going to take people to the range with you, you’d better know what you’re doing and how to keep them safe. Not too sure you’re ready for that? Sign up for a professional training class. Take another firearms class. Become a certified RO for a shooting sport. Join the NRA and become a certified firearms instructor. Whatever it is, take the next step so you are ready, able and prepared to get new shooters up and running safely.
Don’t Quit. It’s easy to get discouraged, and most people are more inclined to sprint than to marathon. Nevertheless, we didn’t get into this position overnight, and we won’t get out of it overnight. Do what you can, when you can, as much as you can. And keep up the good work.
Underneath this article, I’ve attached a list of all the local gun-rights organizations I could find. Some of them are active and wonderful and vibrant. Some of them not too much. Some of them are ideologically pure and some of them are pragmatic compromisers. And a few of these organizations (to judge by the websites) sure look as if they could use a hand. What you decide to do about that is up to you.
Kathy Jackson is the Managing Editor of Concealed Carry Magazine.
State and Local Gun Rights Organizations
[1] SOURCE (Incidentally, this linked blog post is an amusing and encouraging read.)
[2] SOURCE
[3] Press release from National Shooting Sports Foundation, http://www.nssf.org
[4] http://wethearmed.com/index.php/topic,795.msg9049.html#msg9049
== Review of the Kelly Kettle
written by Cody S. Alderson
USCCA GEAR REVIEW
This week’s review is long with lots of photos. There is even a video supplemental to the article. The link is at the end of the article. This product deserves the work and detail that I have put into creating this review. I like this product so much that I wanted to really tell you everything about it that I discovered and learned from the family who makes it.
The Kelly Kettle is not made in the U.S.A. It it is definitely not made in China either! It is made in Ireland by the Kelly family who has been making it for four generations. Patrick Kelly was my contact with the company. Patrick called my cellphone and left a message, as I wasn’t able to take the call at the time. His Irish accent was only slight compared to the exaggerated efforts we hear from actors on television and in movies here in the U.S.
Below is a photo of Patrick Kelly’s grandfather Jim Kelly (seated in the center) along the shores of Lough Conn, where the Kelly Kettle began, with a group of Welsh Anglers in 1964. Patrick told me,
“We have been supplying our kettles for four Generations now. However, it is only in the last three years or so that their appeal has grown significantly worldwide. My Brother Seamus and I purchased the company from our Father three years ago and I suppose brought our Marketing and Commercial Banking experience to what, up to then, was a relatively small family enterprise.”
I’m glad that Patrick and Seamus are distributing their family’s product worldwide. In my humble opinion, I recommend that everyone have a Kettle on hand at least for emergency use. I’ll be using mine even out in the yard at night making hot water for some hot chocolate with marshmallows. It will go with me on day hikes too. I’m also going to keep this piece of kit in the vehicle for any occasion when I want or need some hot water.
The Kelly Kettle boils water for whatever you may need to boil water for. It does the job absolutely perfect using practically any burnable materials that can be stuffed into the base and then lit. Let me tell you a little about how I feel about having the ability to heat water practically anywhere at anytime:
I’ve spent a little time without heat. No problem. Take some time to protect the pipes from freezing, grab a blanket, and wait for the furnace fixers to show up. I’ve also been without water. No problem. We have stored water. I’ve been without electricity too. That’s fine. I need a break from writing, and too much TV rots the brain anyway.
I’ve been without hot water, and that is just downright annoying to say the very least. It’s not too tough to heat up a good quantity of stored water, even if all of the utilities are out, if there is a fueled up camp stove or barbecue grill around. However, during an emergency evacuation, it is unlikely that the barbecue or the camp stove will be in the Bug-Out-Bag (B.O.B.), and fuels like propane run out sooner or later.
Whether evacuating by means of the family minivan or on foot, the average B.O.B. has a means of making fire. Taking the time to make a full-size fire to heat up some water for coffee, tea, personal hygiene, the baby’s bottle, or to rehydrate some dehydrated meals is time and resource consuming. It is also tactically compromising, depending on the situation.
I didn’t know about the Kelly Kettle until a USCCA subscriber asked me about it. I had never heard of it, and I’m researching stuff almost to the point of my eyes starting to bleed. He sent me a private message on the USCCA forums asking me if I knew anything about the Kelly Kettle. By the way, the forums are a great way to get to know some of our fellow USCCA members. I like to participate on the forums. If not, I would not have heard about the Kelly Kettle. I’d like to thank our fellow USCCA member Vernon Thompson of Huntington, W.V. for telling me about it.
This is one piece of kit that everyone should have in their survival bag, whether you call it a Bug-Out-Bag or some other cool sounding name. I cannot stress how much I am pleased with the performance of the Kelly Kettle, which is also known as the Volcano Kettle. Both registered trademarks are owned by the Kelly Kettle Company.
The design is old, tried, and true. That’s why I like it so much. It’s a double walled kettle that is wider at the base on the inside, and tapers to a narrow chimney opening at the top. Below is a photo of the inner wall/chimney of the Kettle. All photos in this article were taken after the Kettle was used and then cleaned up with some steel wool and soap. This thing is durable, simple to use, and meets my number one criteria of being suitable for its intended use.
The inner wall works perfectly as a flue to draw up air from the base, and that lets a tiny fire boil water in less than five minutes.
Between the inner and outer walls of the Kettle is a space that holds water. There is a fill spout just to the side of the top opening of the chimney (see photo below). The Kettles come in 1 pint, 1.75 pint, and 2.5 pint sizes by themselves, and in kit form. Cook sets, replacement parts, and accessories can be purchased separately.
There is a real cork on a metal chain that is used for transporting cold water to the fire base only. Never put the cork in place when the Kettle is on the fire or hot. Pressure will either make the cork a projectile, or it could cause a catastrophic failure of the Kettle. The Kettle isn’t designed for long-term transport of water such as filling it and putting it in a pack for later use. It is designed to be filled from the local water source and used. Much the same as a cook pot isn’t designed to carry water while out hiking, but is used to hold water for cooking at the time of use.
The basic Kettle comes with the self-contained Kettle and a base that will hold the materials that will be burned. The base stores inverted in the bottom of the Kettle. The Kettle pictured in the video supplemental and the article photos is the one with the cook set. The cook set has a pot support that attaches to the chimney of the large Kettle, a small pot with lid (the lid can be used as a small cooking container too), a handle, and a grate for the base so that the small pot can be placed right above the fire in the base when the Kettle is not heating water.
The Kettle is for heating water. It isn’t for cooking stuff in the Kettle. It is so easy to use, it is perfect for those who aren’t adept at making fire or other camping types of skills. Gather some tinder such as a piece of paper, a piece of fabric, dryer lint, strips of dried bark, or practically anything that lights and burns quickly. (Obviously one would want to know what their tinder is. Using dead poison ivy would cause a world of problems that one would especially not want in a survival situation). Put the tinder in the bottom of the base. Put some twigs, cardboard, wood chips, or even camel dung, like it says on the Kelly Kettle website, on top of the tinder. Put the Kelly Kettle on top of the base with water in it, and light the tinder. You might have to blow into the air hole in the base to get things going, but in less than five minutes you will have boiling water.
The Kettle can be kept going by adding more water and more fuel. Just drop small pieces of whatever the fuel is right down the chimney of the Kettle. It works perfectly.
Never use an accelerant. Not only would that be dangerous, it is not needed. The shape of the Kettle, with the fire base, makes it possible to heat water even while out in the rain. Wind is okay too. The base protects the fuel.
The Kettle should only be on a fire when there is water in it. Even when using the pot support on top of the chimney, there still has to be water in the Kettle. It should never be heated dry. The cook set is not designed for cooking raw foods. It is made for reheating things like a can of soup, some pork and beans, or reheating a cooled off re-hydrated meal. It isn’t for frying up a bacon double cheeseburger.
When I used to go night fishing, I would have been much happier to have had a Kelly Kettle with me. When I first started camping, I would have been a happier camper, pun intended, to have had a Kelly Kettle then too. Now I’ve got one. Not only has the Kelly Kettle been made by four generations of the same family, this is a piece of gear that could very well last for four generations of use. Everything is made of metal except for the wooden part of the carry handle and the real cork stopper. The Kettle and cook set are made of aluminum. The only really modern material is the bag to hold the Kettle. I’d like to see them market a heavy cotton canvas bag for it. That wouldn’t be suitable for the backpacking crowd who wants to go super lightweight, but it would be good for me.
For the backpackers who count every gram, the steel handle of the Kettle can be removed and replaced with a piece of wire. It just takes a little extra precaution when removing the Kettle from the fire. The cork and chain can be removed too. Even the fire base can be left at home, and the Kettle supported on a couple of small stones over a small fire. It is really versatile.
Below is a photo of the handle. It is all aluminum and grabs the edge of the pot or lid in a plier-like fashion.
The following photo is the base with the grate on it, and I am holding the pot suspended just above the grate using the handle on the pot.
Here is a closer look at the base with the grate on it. For normal use of just boiling water in the Kettle, the grate would not be used. The grate is to support the pot directly over the fire.
To boil some water and reheat something at the same time, just use the pot support on the chimney. Remember to never have the Kettle on the fire without water in it, and never have the cork in the spout when the Kettle is hot or being heated. Below is a photo of the pot support on the chimney with the pot in place.
The Kettle is really light, but don’t think that it is thin walled like a soda pop can. It is thick enough to be able to hold up to the rigors of daily outdoor use. That is daily use, not occasional use. I could use this Kettle everyday without there being an issue with it. The only thing that I could even predict a problem with would be the cork deteriorating over time, or possibly the storage bag tearing. That’s why I personally want a canvas bag made by the Kelly family. I could buy one somewhere else, but I’m all into keeping this piece of kit authentic.
Here are two photos of the whole set, in the bag and out of the bag. Store the handle in the pot, the lid on the pot, with that combo in the base, and the grate and pot support disassembled and stuffed into the chimney, with the fire base inverted into the chimney. It fits neatly into the compact storage bag. The other photo is that same large Kettle Kit showing the contents spread out.
As of the writing of this article the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Pound Sterling is in our favor here in the U.S. There is still time to order the Kelly Kettle to have it arrive before Christmas. If you do anything outdoors such as hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, camping, bird watching, studying plant taxonomy, or hanging around out in the yard at night with friends and family, then the Kelly Kettle will quickly become a tradition for you as it is for me. It took me five minutes to make the Kettle part of my life like the anglers have for generations along Lough Conn in Ireland. Even if you are not the outdoorsy type, I still highly recommend that you have a Kelly Kettle packed in your Bug-Out-Bag. This is one piece of gear that won’t require regular practice to be able to use effectively.
As a matter of fact, for me, I am stating that so far this is my favorite product of all time. It’s a new category for me. I can make a knife, a spear, an axe, a hammer, and other emergency survival tools from found materials. I can make some decent weapons too. If push comes to shove, I can do the bow and drill thing to make fire, but I’d much rather prefer a Bic lighter or a pack of matches. I can make shelter, rope, a warm bed, and so many other things too.
I could even improvise cooking tools by scrounging a discarded number ten can (if one was around) to make a hobo stove. But I would rather have the Kelly Kettle with me, no matter what other stuff I had to do without. Just having some plain hot water to drink on a cold night when I’m surrounded in a makeshift bed of dried leaves would be a definite core temperature, as well as moral, booster. So if I’m in a bad situation where I’m doing without, I would pick the Kelly Kettle to have with me if at all possible.
I have a hope of someday being able to have a store that only has in it items that are suitable for what the manufacture says that they are suitable for. So many products are just hype that can leave you without hope in a survival situation. The store would have things like the most reliable guns, the most reliable knives, the best packs for making Bug-Out-Bags, and other stuff like that. On a display at the front of my store would be a stack of Kelly Kettles with a sign that says, “If you don’t buy anything else, don’t leave without buying one of these.”
If you would like an easy to use product that has been in use for generations with its use spreading across the globe instead of being replaced by something supposedly newer and better, then check out the Kelly family’s famous Kettle at www.kellykettle.com.
Here is the link to this week’s Armed American Report Video Supplemental about the Kelly Kettle.
YOUTUBE LINK TO VIDEO SUPPLEMENTAL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4aeXFn6GHE
EMBED CODE:
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I would like to hear from you. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the Gear Reviews email me at cody@uscca.us. |
Clarification of the Pro-Ears Review: In the article, I indicated using a simple subtraction method of taking the noise that one would be exposed to such as gunfire at around 140 decibels, and subtracting the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of the hearing protection. In this example making the 140 decibel sound of gunfire be 107 decibels at the protected ears using a Pro-Ears or any product rated at a 33 decibel NRR. At 107 decibels that would still be an unsafe sound level. However, sources that I have been able to find indicate that sound at 110 decibels should be limited to no more 30 minutes of exposure per day.
When an NRR is calculated it is done by finding the attenuation of sound across a range of frequencies with the mean being calculated from the attenuation amounts across a set range of frequencies. In other words, they see how much sound is blocked for some higher and lower pitch sounds, then see what the mean number is.
For example, Pro-Ears uses 9 different frequencies checking for attenuation from 125Hz to 8000Hz. At 125Hz the attenuation appears to be 15 decibels according to their published literature. At 8000Hz it appears to be 37 decibels. Now figuring the mean across their listed attenuation for those two frequencies and the other seven frequencies comes out to an NRR of 33 decibels (rounded down). Though it isn’t accurate to just subtract the NRR from the sound that one is exposed to, it works as a rough idea for limiting exposure.
Bottom Line: Pro-Ears makes top quality hearing protection that you can trust to protect your hearing. I trust it to protect my hearing, and I’m not really the trusting type. It is still up to the person exposed to loud sounds to decide whether or not to limit their exposure times over their lifetime due to hearing loss being a cumulative type of damage.
== USCCA Members-Only ==
Forum Highlights
Every paying website 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!
If you have never logged in but are a member, visit THIS location to watch help videos, including how to find out your username and/or password!
The Most Awkward Situation… EVER
Posted by an anonymous USCCA Member on our Members Only Forum.
My girlfriend and I spent Saturday in the New Orleans French Quarter which is alive with street performances and music acts. One of the best performance groups are the Dragon Masters. We got there just in time for a new show and sat down to enjoy their comedy and break dancing routine. Everything was going great until their grand finale where they pick 7 girls and 1 guy out of the audience, lay them all down flat on the pavement, and do a flying flip over all of them.
Well can anyone guess which guy they single out of the audience of about 300 (most with cameras)……….
Yeah so I politely decline to be a volunteer. I was wearing my usual P7 rig (H&K P7 IWB + 2 extra mags on weak side all barely concealed under a small Polo shirt) and no way was I going to be in the spotlight. They insist and start making jokes about me over the microphone. The girlfriend says yeah go go go go it’ll be fun. No thanks. Go go go go. OK FINE let’s just get this over with.
So the 7 other “volunteers” and I are up in front of everyone lined up. They ask us to get on our knees and bend forward so our head is on the ground. OH GREAT. I manage to pull my shirt down far enough to keep the gun concealed and just do it, hoping this will all be over soon and I can continue my life of anonymity.
Well of course this being a comedy routine and me being the only guy up there they decide to single me out and start making more wisecracks about me. Yeah OK whatever. Just do the stunt and let’s go. Before I can react one of the dancers comes around behind me and pulls my Polo shirt over my head clearly exposing my whole rig! No one says anything and it seemed like the whole show stopped for about 3 seconds. Thankfully, the performers didn’t make a scene of the gun and let me pull the shirt back down. Rather than draw any more attention to myself, I just got back on my knees like it was not a problem and prayed the New Orleans PD didn’t see me.
They finished the stunt without picking on me anymore and then I grabbed the girlfriend and made a quick exit. That’s it end of story. With all the cameras there, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a YouTube video of it soon enough.
Lesson Learned: DON’T BE A VOLUNTEER!
************
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“Finally, Tim Breaks His Silence…” Over the past 24 months, I’ve received hundreds of emails. All asking similar questions…
So… I’ve decided to DO something about this. I’m going to break my silence. I’ve decided to start a daily tip for those of you who have an interest in business, and entrepreneurship. Heck, it will just be me talking about something Here is the link, so you can act now: = > http://www.TimothyJSchmidt.com |
== “Criminals FOR Gun Control” ==
USCCA VIDEO OF THE WEEK
View the ‘Video of the Week’ here…
== “Tim-spiration” of the Week ==
USCCA PHOTO OF THE WEEK
All Photos of the Week are taken from Mr. Oleg Volk’s
website: http://www.a-human-right.com/. It is a
FANTASTIC site. Please check it out!
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…
“No matter what area of life we are talking about: - spirituality, government, poetry - Americans, perhaps more than other peoples tend to forget that the physical matters. The reason that poetry exists is not to make a new rose, tell a new love story, or embellish a war. It exists to show you an aspect of reality that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. It doesn’t improve reality or create an artificial reality. It serves reality. Religion is equal parts body and spirit. Our bodies will be raised on the last day, and that means physically. What we do - stealing, lying, eating gluttonously, fornicating - it causes real pollution to our soul. The body and the soul in mankind are more intimately linked than we can imagine. This soul-body unity is the only reason that we can say moral good or moral evil exist. It is the only way that good or evil come into the world. It is the only reason that Christ could become God-man and die for us.
While the Constitution is wonderful (it innumerate’s some of the rights that all men are naturally entitled to) the only way that it’s words have any meaning is because they are written in the blood of the revolution. Without men to stand up and bleed for those words they would have died before they were ever written and we’d still be colonials today - paying taxes to a foreign potentate without the right of representation. The only reason that a shred of the original force of The Constitution still stands is because there are true public servants who devote their lives to protecting those principles, and true citizens who realize that to make reality mirror our political ideas is to be entirely prepared, both as a nation and personally, to physically tear those freedoms from the dying hands of our oppressors.
I’m not sure when America forgot about the body, but many of us surely have.”
-Zachary O’Meara Good
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!
- “Shop Owner Defends Self and Child…”
found at: http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html
“A barbershop owner fought back against a would-be armed robber in the city’s West Oak Lane section.
It happened at ‘Cross Cutz’, on the 7400 block of Briar Road, around 6:07p.m. Thursday.
Police told Fox 29 News that a man in his early 20s stormed the barbershop with a 9mm gun and demanded cash.
The male shop owner forked over everything he had but he and the suspect still got into an altercation, police said.
Minutes later, the shop owner pulled out his own gun and shot the alleged robber in the head. The suspect collapsed right at the door. Police said all of this took place with a 9-year-old boy playing video games in a back room of the business.
“The owner has a 9-year-old son who was in a back room playing video games, in a room right-next-door to where the robbery occurred at the time of the robbery and shooting. However, the 9-year-old boy did not see the actual robbery or shooting,” said Chief Investigator Scott Small of Philadelphia Police.
As police tried to shelter the boy from the scene, medics rushed the wounded suspect to Albert Einstein Hospital where he is in critical condition.
Both weapons were recovered at the scene.
Police are investigating all of the circumstances behind the shooting.”
Closing Thoughts
This week’s question is as follows:
“What if I’m sitting somewhere in public, like a restaurant, and my gun is visible but I don’t know it. Can I get in trouble if someone calls the cops?”
Great question. This is actually one of the most misunderstood situations involving carrying handguns- at least in my mind.
I’ve heard a lot of people warn others that “If your gun ever shows, you WILL be arrested for brandishing a firearm and disturbing the peace.”
Before I say anything, note that I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice!
Anyway, there have been so few people ever arrested or fined for having their gun accidentally show, that in about an hour of Google searching, I couldn’t find any instance of it ever happening.
All of the police officers I have talked to have reaffirmed that to ‘brandish’ a handgun means to ‘wave it around in a threatening manner’. If your gun accident shows, it is highly unlikely (assuming you are legally carrying a legal weapon!) that you will get into any trouble.
You may get asked by the officer to show him your permit, but I can’t see it ever going any further than that.
If any of your have any stories or advice that suggests otherwise, I’d love to print them here! Just shoot me an email:
Do you have a pressing CCW concern that you’d like to get some feedback on? Use the contact form found at this page to let me hear it! Just use the graphic below!
Tim Schmidt
Founder - U.S. Concealed Carry
http://www.usconcealedcarry.com
