What Rebecca Peters and the IANSA really want

It is quite clear from the following video excerpts, from a debate between Rebecca Peters of the IANSA and Wayne LaPierre of the NRA, what the ultimate goal of the gun control forces really is.

Parts 1 - 4:

-Yuri

Very Positive News

Today, good news! New statistics from the National Safety Council shows that accidents with firearms remain at record lows. Even more significantly, accidents involving youths continue to decline - significantly.

The trend is especially positive as the numbers of firearms owners climbs, giving credibility to the idea that training new gun owners helps assure their safety as they progress in shooting.

The 2007 NSF's "Safety Facts" report shows a 40 percent decrease in accidental firearms-related fatalities in the period from 1995 through 2005. It also shows gun accidents involving children age fourteen and under declined sixty nine percent from 1995 through 2003.

The council's most recent stats show 109,277 U.S. residents dying in accidents of all types in 2005. Less than 1 percent involved firearms. As you might imagine, motor vehicles were the highest fatality rate, with poisoning and falls joining the auto to account for seventy five percent of all accidental deaths.

These statistics are also verified by findings of the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC findings show that all four regions of the United States have enjoyed significant declines in the numbers of firearms-related fatalities.

There were 730 accidental firearms fatalities in 2005; forty percent fewer than the 1,225 deaths in 1995. And the numbers of firearms related fatalities continue to show the largest percentage decrease of all measured types of accident fatalities.

Source The Shooting Wire

Civilian Self Defense - Episode 1

Monday, February 26, 2007

Newberry County, South Carolina

From Columbia’s WLTX.com of February 26, 2007
Prosecutors: Woman Killed Her Husband in Self-Defense

Prosecutors have decided that a fatal domestic shooting in Newberry County last month was done in self-defense.

Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace determined that the female victim in the case, 59-year-old Cynthia Franklin, took appropriate actions to save her life, and that no charges will be filed in the case.

Deputies say Cynthia Franklin shot to death her husband, 63-year-old Dennis Franklin, back on January 26. Officers say the two got into a domestic dispute.

Investigators say they found the woman suffering significant wounds to her head, face, and upper body. They say there were obvious signs of a violent struggle in the home and that Cynthia was struck multiple times with a large stick.

Cynthia also told authorities she was trying to get away and made it to the bedroom where the pistol was kept, then shot her husband as he tried to attack her.

"This was a tragic situation," said Sheriff Foster in a written release. "While we certainly agree with the decision not to prosecute Mrs. Franklin, she and her family are left to deal with the devastating effects of this incident."

***

Friday, February 23, 2007

National City, California

From NBCSanDiego.com of February 23, 2007
Police: Victim Turns Gun On Home-Invasion Robber

A suspected home-invasion robber was shot and wounded by one of his alleged victims according to police in National City.

Officials said three men, wearing masks, forced their way into a home at 2032 E. Seventh Street Thursday night. Four people were inside the home at the time.

The men, armed with shotguns and other weapons, ordered the residents to the floor, according to police.

Officials said one of the residents managed to wrestle the shotgun away from one of the robbers. A struggle followed and the gun fired, hitting a wall.

Police said a second resident picked up the shotgun and fired two rounds at the robbers, striking one of the men, identified as Marc Wideman, 19, of Spring Valley.

All three robbers fled the scene. Wideman was later found by police at a local hospital. He was taken into custody. Police said his wounds are not life-threatening.

Police are still looking for the two other men in this case.

***

There are many more that I didn't post here. If you would like to read more about citizens using guns to protect themselves, go to Civilian Gun Self Defense Blog. Many thanks to them for allowing me to post some examples from their web site.

The Truth about 'Assault Weapons'

...from the author:

"This video got me suspended for a week! My Chief couldn't stand the truth.

Don't let the skinny guy with color in his hair fool you. It's me! This video was made in 1989 and intended for viewing by legislators during the controversy caused by the "assault weapon" rhetoric by anti-gun types.

It struck a popular chord, though, and was distributed far and wide by the NRA. I was under orders from my Chief, Joe McNamara, to state a disclaimer whenever making a public statement, on or off duty. I neglected to do that at the beginning of this film, as I thought it was for legislator's eyes only. And Joe was lying in wait. He got me!

I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to participate in this video project, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.

Leroy"

The only thing I would add is that FA weapons aren't illeagle in most states and just require that you get approval of the BATFE and pay $200. FA weapons are very expensive however since the government decided that no NEW weapons could be imported and owned if they were made after a certain date.

-Yuri

Suicide on the Web

The other guys have an(other) article up now about the Zumbo affair. They quote this article by Pat Wray (AHSA [fake hunting organization] supporter) as he decries the "Zumboing" of Jim Zumbo.

In a few short days the career of the best known hunting writer in America was served in small bloody pieces to a crowd of vicious, vengeful, vitriolic jackals. This is worth analysis.

…What’s interesting about this entire situation is how quickly it escalated into a feeding frenzy that destroyed a good man’s career. The easy answer is the Internet. We’ve seen examples before, blogs and e-mails developing into uncontrolled windstorms that destroy everything in their paths. The danger of such a thing happening is a fact of today’s world and no one, even the most mighty, is immune.

But we need to look beyond the Internet, into the genesis of the anger and fear that fueled the Internet attacks. If we look closely, we will find the National Rifle Association, or NRA. For decades the NRA has fostered a climate of fear and paranoia among gun owners. They have hammered home the message that everyone is out to take our guns and that compromise is tantamount to treason. They created an attitude within their membership that anyone who disagreed was an enemy and the best defense was a good offense. Nowhere has that message taken root as strongly as within the owners of the military style rifles, and it was they who came after Zumbo in their thousands.

Pat Wray here begins to sound a lot like another Jim Zumbo apologist David E. Petzal (supporter of the 1994 AWB). I think the three things that really touched off the firestorm around Jim Zumbo was he used words that were sure to get him into big trouble with a lot of gun owners out there. They are: "Terrorist", "Ban" and "Assault".

Here's some quick facts for you. There are, according to the NRA (and they should know), around 80+ Million gun owners out there. At the same time, there are about only about 18+ Million hunters. For the sake of full disclosure I will also list the NRA's membership at around 4.5+ Million gun owners and hunters. AHSA and Bob "Turncoat" Ricker would have you believe that these numbers mean that most gun owners don't agree with the NRA. In response, I would remind him that the membership of the AHSA (at last count) stands at around 150. No, that isn't Millions, that is in HUNDREDS. I think it's pretty obvious who really does stand for gun owners rights in this country. They may be able to fool some of the more gullible gun owners out there, but most are smart enough not to buy the song and dance that the AHSA is promoting. John Kerry in cammo anyone?

As to the assertion that the NRA jumped on this and aggressively went after Jim Zumbo, that is patently false. It was several days before the NRA posted any kind of press release at all having to do with the situation. The facts of the matter are, firstly, the second amendment is not about hunting and it never was. Hunters just enjoy the fact that they are allowed to keep their guns to hunt with, not the other way around. Non-hunters outnumber hunters by a factor of almost 5:1 and when you start tossing around hot button words with impunity, it's going to piss off a lot of people. I think Tom Gresham said it best in his latest post on guntalk.com when he said:

Jim basically committed career suicide. In short, he wrote in his blog on the Outdoor Life web site that he had just learned (while on a hunt) that some people use AR-15 rifles for hunting. He offered his thought that this was a bad image for hunters. Okay, that's his opinion. But, he went even further, calling for game departments to ban the use of these rifles for hunting. After crossing the line and calling for a banning of those guns for hunting, he firmly planted his foot on a land mine and called AR-15s "terrorist rifles." The explosion from that misstep was heard throughout the firearms industry.

You see, the AR-15 is one of the most popular firearm platforms going. I own three of them and love to shoot them. I don't consider myself a terrorist, and neither do the millions of others who own them and shoot them for recreation, or who own them for personal defense. On "Personal Defense TV" we have been showing that the thinking among security trainers has moved away from the shotgun as the ideal home defense gun, and in many quarters, it now favors the AR-15 or some other carbine (short rifle).

...The outrage by gun owners is completely understandable. To put it in context, Zumbo's comments came only days after we saw the introduction of a bill in Congress to bring back the Clinton Gun Ban (the so-called "assault weapons" ban). The final nail in the coffin was when-- Sunday afternoon -- the Brady Campaign (the leading group working to restrict gun rights) posted Zumbo's comments to several places on the net, saying, in effect, "See, even the top hunting writer says these rifles have no legitimate use."

Jim Zumbo has since posted a second apology, one that I actually believe this time, but the damage has been done. After thinking it over for a number of days, I have no animosity toward the guy, he simply spoke out of ignorance and bought into the "assault weapon" hysteria spread by the other side without doing his homework. I sincerely hope he does work for the education of others who think like he used to, but I have my doubts that anything he does from now on can undo the damage.

-Yuri

Where everyone's a straight shooter!

The nerve of some people! I've been aware of a site for a while called "The Gun Guys" (no, I won't link to it, I won't give them anymore traffic) in which the anti's and Brady forces spread disinformation and outright lies about guns, people who own guns and the 2+ Million people every year who defend their lives with a gun, most without firing a shot. These lies have got to stop going unchallenged!

This blog will be dedicated to displaying the positive uses of guns, from target shooting to civilian self defense and everything in between. We will use logic and sound reason to counter the emotional, but logically lacking arguments from those who would have you stripped of your second amendment rights and helpless; dependant on someone else to protect you when you used to be able to protect yourself.

This I promise you, everyone here is a straight shooter, unlike at the gun guys site.