Guns and Ammo Enthusiast Blog A blog for and by Guns and Ammo Enthusiast's

The insanity of gun control is shown again in a sad story from england

A truly terrible case from England shows both the futility of gun control, and the terrible things that can happen to unarmed victims:

A 33 year old British woman was 7 months pregnant.  She was at home with her 39 year old boyfriend watching TV at 10:30PM when they heard a noise outside.  The boyfriend stepped out the front door to investigate, and saw 3 masked men standing outside.  He tried to close the door, but the masked intruders rushed inside, pushing him to the floor.  One of the intruders held a shotgun to his head, while the others demanded the keys to the couple’s Audi parked outside.  One of the criminals then began dragging the pregnant woman upstairs as the boyfriend begged them not to hurt her, while repeatedly shouting that she was pregnant.  The boyfriend was hit with the butt of the shotgun for speaking up, while the pregnant woman was taken upstairs.  The criminal said that unless the woman complied, both she and her boyfriend would be shot.  The woman was then raped, and told by the rapist that it was her “lucky day.” The criminals then stole cash and belongings from the couple, before leaving in their Audi.  All this took place on May 14, 2008, although the attack was just recently mentioned in the news. Police have some rather poor quality images of the suspected attackers from a nearby surveillance camera, but no arrests have been made.  The baby was later born in good health, but the woman made clear that the attack has forever changed her life, saying “Everything that you believe to be safe is no longer safe. You can’t walk into the bedroom and feel relaxed because you remember that someone was in there who wasn’t supposed to be in there.”

This is not the first time that British gun control has failed in a rather spectacular fashion. Indeed, whether we’re talking about the UK, or US cities like Chicago, guns bans fail to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.  That is because criminals who want guns will get them, just as they are able to get illegal drugs and other contraband on the black market.  For such criminals, gun control laws are just another law for them to break – and a person willing to commit a  more serious crime like robbery or rape won’t think twice about violating the gun ban.  That is why instead of decreasing, gun related crime actually rose in the UK after the gun ban was passed. When gun bans pass, criminals become emboldened by their monopoly on guns, and go about using those guns  against their now-disarmed victims.  Interestingly enough, knife related crime also tends to rise after guns are banned, as it did in the UK, possibly because the emboldened knife-wielding criminals are also less afraid that their victim may have a self defense gun. This and the many other cases, where British citizens are left defenseless against violent criminals, really show the folly of strict gun control.  The message to take to heart is that gun bans don’t prevent violence, since violence is caused by the intentional actions of a criminal – not the presence of an inanimate object.  Denying law abiding citizens the right to have a gun for self defense only ensures that the law abiding members of society will be unarmed when those violent criminals attack, and that those few citizens who do defend themselves will be sent to jail.

After reading this tragic story, I mentioned to my fiancé that I am so glad we live in the USA, and in a state that respects our right to gun ownership for self defense.  She whole-heartedly agreed.  We’ve set our wedding date for October 16, 2010, and we plan to have our first child about a year or so after getting married.  Although that is still a ways in the future, I couldn’t help thinking about what it would be like to suffer this sort of home invasion, and to stand by helplessly while the mother of one’s unborn child is raped.  My fiancé similarly mentioned how terrible it must be to not only suffer rape, but also be in fear for the safety of your unborn child at the same time.   As sad as those thoughts are, I am comforted by the fact that as I write this article, a Springfield XD-40 sits just inches away from me in a quick-access safe, providing me with the ability to stop multiple home invaders should they break in.  In the next room over sits my large gun safe, a few feet from my fiancé’s computer, and unlocked since we are at home.  In the event of a home invasion, she too would quickly be able to grab one of several firearms suitable for self defense.  Since both of us regularly visit our local gun range to maintain and improve our marksmanship skills, I’m confident that either of us could skillfully use those gun in self defense.  While I can’t guarantee that we would prevail in every single conceivable home invasion scenario, I know that we are in the best possible position to defend ourselves, should the need arise.

As both the statistical evidence and real life examples make clear, armed self defense works.  It allows pregnant women, the elderly, the disabled, and all other types of citizens to save themselves from physically stronger and/or numerically superior attackers.  Sticking with the example of pregnant women defending themselves against home invaders, I would also note this other real life case, from just a couple weeks ago, where a pregnant woman held an armed home invader at gunpoint until the police arrived.  Not only do armed citizens save themselves, but they also deter some criminals while taking other criminals off the streets before they can harm another victim.

Good news for Wisconsin rifle deer hunters. You may get a 7 day extension

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is proposing to extend the 9-day deer rifle season in November by seven days and wants the public to weigh-in. A number of public hearings have been scheduled across the Badger State and it is imperative that you attend and make your voices heard.

The hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an informational presentation and overview of the proposed rule. Public comments and statements will be accepted beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Scheduled hearing dates and locations:

• Crivitz – Wednesday, October 14, Crivitz Village Hall, 800 Henriette Ave.
  
• Onalaska – Thursday, October 15, Onalaska High School Field house, 700 Hilltopper Place.
  
• Madison – Wednesday, October 21, Lussier Family Heritage Center – Main Level, 3101 Lake Farm Road.
  
• Rhinelander – Wednesday, October 21, James Williams Middle School, 915 Acacia Lane.
  
• Ashland – Wednesday, October 21, Ashland AmericInn Conference Center, 3009 Lakeshore Drive E.
  
• Appleton – Monday, October 26, Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton Campus, Room C190, 1825 North Bluemound Drive.
  
• Eau Claire – Monday, October 26, Chippewa Valley Technical College auditorium, Room M103, 620 W. Clairemont Ave.
  
• Pewaukee – Wednesday, October 28, Waukesha County Technical College, Room C051/C057, 800 Main St.
  
• Spooner – Wednesday, October 28, Spooner High School Auditorium, 801 County A.
  
• Stevens Point – Tuesday, November 3, Portage County Courthouse Annex, Conference Room 1, 1462 Strongs Ave.

Please attend these hearings and make your opinion heard. The proposal provides more hunting opportunities in Wisconsin and is biologically justified in light of the state’s robust deer populations.  Increasing hunting opportunities in Wisconsin would generate millions more dollars for conservation efforts and would stimulate local businesses.  If you are unable to attend, please contact Bob Manwell at (608) 264-9248 or Keith Warnke at (608) 264-6023 for more information.

New Jersey’s Firearms Advisory Task Force to Hold Public Hearing on Newly Enacted and unconstitutional “One-Gun-A-Month” Law

On Thursday, September 24 the Firearms Advisory Task Force will hold a public hearing at 11 a.m. in Committee Room 4 in the State House Annex, adjacent to the State House.
The Task Force was created by Governor Jon Corzine’s (D) Executive Order 145 which directs the Task Force to consider New Jersey’s firearms laws, in particular the recently signed “one gun a month” bill. The hearing will focus on the new law, its exceptions for collectors of handgun and retailers, consideration of other exceptions and provide possible recommendations for any legislative changes to ensure that collectors and sportsmen are not adversely impacted by the new law.

Guns and Ammo Enthusiast Blog would like to invite every freedom loving, gun tooting, red blooded American to attend this circus and let them hear from you. Also let them know this bill is UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

Can we the citizens of the USA vote California OUT of the union, before their communist insanity spreads to the rest of the country?

From Sacramento

Guns don’t kill people, it’s true. Bullets do.

“Without ammo, a handgun is only good for pistol-whipping someone,” notes Assemblyman Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). “Ammo is the lifeblood of a handgun.”

On Sept. 11, the last day of this year’s regular legislative session, De Leon narrowly won final passage of a bill to regulate sales of handgun ammunition.

The assemblyman has a long list of gang shooting horror stories from his district, which stretches from Hollywood to the Alhambra city line and includes Echo Park, Lincoln Heights and part of East Los Angeles.

Stray bullets from gang crossfire have killed a 9-year-old girl playing in the kitchen, a 14-year-old girl as she sat in the back seat of her family’s SUV and a 4-year-old boy while walking with his sister outside their home. Plus there has been a barrel-load of gangbanger assassinations.

De Leon’s bill, AB 962, would make it illegal to knowingly sell handgun ammunition to criminals. Strangely, De Leon says, it’s against the law for criminals to possess ammo but not for someone to sell it to them knowing they are criminals. The bill also would prohibit hard-core gang members — those under court injunction restrictions — from possessing handgun bullets.

And — the more controversial part — it would require:

* Ammunition dealers to keep bullets out of easy reach of potential shoplifters, similar to cigarettes.

* Dealers to check a purchaser’s identification, take a thumbprint and make the records available to local law enforcement. There’d be no waiting period before delivery of the ammo, as there is with firearms.

* Handgun owners to buy their bullets face-to-face from a licensed dealer. They could order through the Internet or by mail, but they’d have to pick up the ammo at a store, just as they now must when buying a gun.

Opponents — Republican legislators and the gun lobby — complained about inconveniencing law-abiding citizens.

“I’d rather be inconvenienced and alive than have criminals convenienced and be dead,” says Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, one of many law enforcement officials who support De Leon’s bill.

“The problem is the criminals’ easy access to ammunition because of the overemphasis on not inconveniencing law-abiding citizens,” the sheriff adds. “The price we all pay is random violence. A safer society will also be a somewhat more inconvenienced society. . . . Those of us in the crime-fighting business need more solutions to control criminal violence.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not signaled a position on the bill. But he vetoed another version by a different author five years ago. In the veto message, Schwarzenegger pointed out that the federal government once had a similar law and concluded it “was simply unworkable and offered no public safety benefit.”

The federal law existed from shortly after Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1968 until President Reagan signed the repealer in 1986 — a prehistoric era before the Internet and high-tech databases.

Since then — and since Schwarzenegger’s veto — several California cities have proved that, with modern technology, they can use dealers’ records as a crime-fighting weapon. They’re able to track down felons and other people — spousal abusers, the criminally insane — who have violated the law by obtaining ammunition.

Los Angeles, Sacramento and 12 other cities — including Beverly Hills, Carson, Inglewood, Pomona, Santa Ana, Santa Monica and West Hollywood — have adopted ordinances requiring dealer record-keeping of ammo purchases.

In a 17-month period, L.A. police arrested 25 people; confiscated 20 weapons, including a machine gun; and seized more than 2,900 rounds of ammunition, according to Deputy Chief Charlie Beck.

Sacramento has California’s most comprehensive ammo-control program. In less than 20 months, it found that ammunition had been illegally purchased by 229 people, including 173 felons. The district attorney filed charges against 190, trial was set for 136 and all but eight pleaded guilty. Seized were 160 firearms, including seven assault weapons and eight explosive devices.

Police Capt. James Maccoun, who heads the Sacramento gun detail, says dealers file their information to the department electronically. Every transaction is checked against a database of people prohibited from possessing weapons.

The dilemma for Sacramento, L.A. and the other cities is that when criminals learn about the dealer record-keeping, they can drive into another community and load up on bullets.

“We don’t catch the smart ones,” Maccoun says.

Beck says L.A.’s law “would be 10 times more effective if it were statewide.”

The L.A. ordinance covers all ammunition, including shotgun shells.

De Leon’s bill would cover only handgun bullets, a concession to hunters.

But that still didn’t attract any Republican legislative support. The measure passed each house with no votes to spare.

“This bill is going after rural communities like no other gun bill has,” declared Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-San Diego), whose district covers rural areas. “So all I ask is: Why can’t you just let my people go?”

That drew some chuckles. But most of the half-hour Assembly debate produced predictable opposition verbiage with seemingly little real passion. Republicans complained about infringing on 2nd Amendment rights, which Democrats vehemently denied.

“As a law-abiding citizen, staunch supporter of 2nd Amendment rights, a Little League coach who is required to have a thumbprint to coach and required to provide a thumbprint for a driver’s license, I rise to support this bill,” said new Assemblyman Steve Bradford (D-Gardena).

Schwarzenegger should sign the measure. Sheriffs and police chiefs want it. It’s a crime-fighting tool that doesn’t stomp on the rights of lawful gun owners. And it would keep loaded weapons out of the hands of some criminals and gangbangers.

Target the bullets.

Ruger has announced the introduction of the Ruger SR-22 Rifle, an autoloading, rimfire rifle

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR) announces the introduction of the Ruger® SR-22TM Rifle, an autoloading, rimfire rifle that combines the legendary reliability of the Ruger® 10/22® with the ergonomics and configurability of the new AR-style Ruger SR-556TM. The new SR-22 Rifle allows shooters to use economical .22 LR ammunition, while still enjoying the look and feel of an “AR” and experiencing the reliability they have come to appreciate from Ruger.

Because it utilizes the unique rotary magazine supplied with the Ruger 10/22, the SR-22 Rifle offers the same gold standard for reliability in autoloading rimfire rifles. Like the 10/22, the AR-style SR-22 Rifle also has an extensive array of accessories available, allowing shooters to select a custom configuration that best suits their tastes and needs.

The SR-22 Rifle uses a standard 10/22 action inside a top-quality, all-aluminum chassis that faithfully replicates the AR-platform dimensions between the sighting plane, buttstock height, and grip. The SR-22 Rifle provides a Picatinny rail optic mount, and includes a six-position, telescoping M4-style buttstock (on a Mil-Spec diameter tube), plus a Hogue® Monogrip® pistol grip. Buttstocks and grips may be swapped out for any AR-style compatible option.

Proposed state legislation would give more legal protection to homeowners and residents who use deadly force

Proposed state legislation would give more legal protection to homeowners and residents who use deadly force to defend themselves from an intruder who has broken in.

The proposal addresses situations such as Jamie Chen’s shooting and killing of Roberto Vega-Gil Wednesday, after Vega-Gil broke into Chen’s Fitchburg home with what police officials said was the intention to carry out a burglary.

Current law only allows a homeowner to use lethal force as a defense if he or she believes the force was necessary to prevent death or serious injury. District attornies typically review such situations to establish whether a homeowner possessed a credible belief.

“The legislature ought to have a firmer policy,” Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Conover).

Holperin’s proposal requires courts to presume a homeowner believed death was a possibility, if lethal force was used in self defense.

“The individual should have the benefit of the doubt that the harm is going to come to the homeowner.”

There are both senate and assembly versions of the proposal. The senate proposal is being considered by the judiciary committee.

Can someone explain the anti gun show movement?

The bureau of Justice statistics state that less then 1% of guns used in crimes where bought at a gun show. So why do some governors (California New York Just to name a few) so anti gun show? Or is it just a political ploy to please the sheepal? Please the anti gun Nazi’s? Can someone explain this?

Saiga 12 GA Russian shotgun review

We found this review and thought the guy did a good job with his review of his shotgun. So we decided to share it with you.

Well it looks like micro stamping is back AGAIN with a vengeance

We will GUARANTEE this WILL raise the cost of ammunition.

During his presidential campaign, Barack Hussein Obama said that he did not support gun control? However, it seems that the new President’s minions and allies in the anti-gun world — including ACORN – have no problem with taking control of ammunition sales.

Bills being pushed in Washington, DC and several states (including Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana ) require all ammunition to be encoded by the manufacturer and a data base of all ammunition sales be created, so they will know how much and what calibers a gunowner buys

“Gun control fanatics, frustrated in their attempts to impose severely restrictive regulations on the gun rights of law-abiding American citizens, apparently think that if they push severe restrictions on ammunition acquisition and possession, they’ll come closer to their objective of restricting if not eliminating the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms,” says John M. Snyder, named Washington’s senior gun rights activist.

With a liberal Democrat now sitting in the Oval Office and both houses of the US Congress boasting Democrat majorities, lawmakers in Washington, DC and around the country are displaying renewed interest in gun control legislation, according to sources within both law enforcement and gun owner rights communities.

“Ever since the so-called ‘Beltway Sniper’ case in 2001, there’s been talk about not just gun registration, but ammo registration. This will make it mandatory for manufacturers of firearms ammunition to number every cartridge they make and to keep records of those cartridges,” said Lt. Steven Rodgers, a cop in New Jersey. “Can’t control guns? Well, they’ll control the ammunition,” he added during an interview with NewswithViews.com.

While a federal law is being considered by proponents of such laws, gun owners in individual states are witnessing what’s referred to as Ammunition Accountability Acts being pushed through they’re state legislatures by impatient lawmakers. Ammunition Accountability, a liberal gun control organization, has developed sample legislation to achieve its purposes and reports that versions of it have been introduced in the legislatures of Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington, according to John Snyder. While state legislatures differ in the wording of their proposed laws, basically they all require that any and all ammunition be encoded by the manufacturer and they will maintain a mandatory data base of all ammunition sales. “We of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms oppose this backdoor approach to gun control,” stated Snyder, an official with that gun rights group. The sample legislation would stipulate that, “each year in the United States, more than 30 percent of all homicides that involve a gun go unsolved; handgun ammunition accounts for 80 percent of all ammunition sold in the United States; current technology for matching a bullet used in a crime to the gun that fired it has worked moderately well for years, but presupposes that the weapon was recovered by law enforcement;” and “bullet coding is a new and effective way for law enforcement to quickly identify persons of interest in gun crime investigations.” It would provide that, after a specific date, all handgun and “assault weapon” ammunition manufactured or sold in the state shall be coded by the manufacturer, and would include a list of all calibers covered by the coding requirement. It would mandate the disposal by a certain date of all non-coded ammunition listed, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets. “If this new proposed Ammo Accountability Act legislation is only another attempt to chip away at the 2nd Amendment, it is just plain wrong. Since the 2nd Amendment defines a citizens ”right” to defend themselves, with a gun, it clearly does not address ammunition. What a novel way to “back door” the issue” said Josephine County, Oregon’s Sheriff Gil Gilbertson.

“It is clearly no secret, many in our government would like to see America disarmed. Our government has authored books mapping out a strategy on how to do just that. Simply look back in history to see what happened after people lost their arms and ability to defend themselves,” he told NewswithViews.com.

“Our government leaders slash funding in support of law enforcement throughout America, leaving our citizens more vulnerable – but on the other hand feel compelled to send hundreds of millions of dollars, each year, to enhance police in foreign Countries. Weaker law enforcement coupled with escalating crime is a receipt for disaster,” said the career lawman.
Ammunition coding technology works by laser etching the back of each bullet with an alpha-numeric serial number. Then when a customer purchases a box of, for example, 9mm cartridges, the box of ammunition and the bullets’ coding numbers would be connected to the purchaser in a statewide or national database. The code on the bullet can be read with a simple magnifying glass and then be run through a statewide or national database to determine who purchased the ammunition and where. The rationale being used by proponents of such laws is that cartridges can be used to trace a gun owner who committed a crime such as murder or assault with a deadly weapon, according to the National Association for Gun Rights’ Executive Director Dudley Brown. But opponents of ammo registration laws counter that this will only increase the incidents of criminals collecting spent cartridges and depriving police of other evidence such as fingerprints on a cartridge left at the crime scene. “NAGR’s strategy is simple: make the enemies of our firearms freedoms pay for every inch. While many so-called “gun rights groups” work to curry favor with politicians and the media, NAGR is working aggressively to hold politicians accountable and to put a stop to gun control,” said Brown. At the federal level, H.R. 408 introduced by Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) a new law would require firearms manufacturers to provide ballistics information on all new firearms to BATF, which would retain the information in a National Firearms Ballistics Database. Critics claim part of this bill will be used to mandate encoding ammunition, which is part and parcel of “ballistics” information. “[Lawmakers] should ignore the media hype on the firearms issue and pay attention to what the public – their constituents – are saying on the matter,” gun rights expert John M. Snyder stated.

“According to an August poll conducted by Zogby International for Associated Television News, the American public rejects the notion that new gun control laws are needed by a two-to-one margin,” Snyder continued.

“Maybe the House of Representatives should have taken a reading of public opinion on this issue before rushing headlong without a roll call vote to pass a bill before the recess,” said Snyder, who is a firearms advisor for the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

S Senate has passed a bill forcing Amtrak to allow firearm transportation on their trains.

   Amtrak would lose its federal subsidies if it doesn’t put a system in place by early next year to check and track firearms so that passengers can legally put the weapons in their checked baggage, the Senate voted Wednesday.

   The measure, an amendment to the transportation and housing appropriations bill, passed 68-30.

   The House version of the bill, passed in July, does not include the provision, so further steps would be needed for it to reach President Obama’s desk.

   Amtrak’s current policy prohibits passengers from carrying “any type of gun, firearm, ammunition, explosives or weapon” in carry-on or checked baggage.

   Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm said firearms had been allowed in checked baggage before the September 11 attacks.

   However, despite the policy change, the company has no uniform system of screening for firearms, Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper noted in a letter to Sens. Patty Murray and Christopher Bond decrying Wednesday’s congressional mandate. They are the top Democrat and Republican, respectively, on the Appropriations Committee’s transportation subcommittee.

   ”Unlike the airline industry, Amtrak has no system in place for a uniform system of screening for weapons,” Carper wrote. The railroad has no secure loading areas, and trains make multiple stops, he said. Employees also would need intensive training.

   Further, he said, the National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak) has neither the money nor the time to meet the Senate’s timetable to put such a system in place.

   Carper warned that if Amtrak were to lose federal funds, it would result in the “cessation of all Amtrak service nationwide.”

   According to its Web site, Amtrak has in place “a range of behind-the-scenes and front-line security measures” that include random passenger and carry-on baggage screening; checked baggage screening; K-9 units; onboard security checks; and identification checks.

   ”As part of our security strategy, randomly selected passengers and their baggage, handbags, backpacks or other personal items may be screened or inspected,” it says.

   ”Passengers failing to consent to security procedures will be denied access to trains and refused carriage, and a refund will be offered.”

   The gun measure was sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi.

   He introduced the same legislation in August as part of the budget resolution, and it was approved with bipartisan support, but the provision was removed during final House-Senate negotiations.

   ”Under current practices, all of the American domestic airlines permit firearms in their checked luggage. Other American passenger railroads also allow checked firearms,” Wicker said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

   ”Only the federally subsidized Amtrak prohibits law-abiding American citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights in checked baggage,” he said.

Murray opposed the legislation.

   ”In order to receive any federal funding under this amendment, Amtrak would have six months to build a process for checking and tracking firearms,” she said.

   ”It would have to find the manpower necessary to screen and guard firearms, and it would have to purchase the equipment necessary. Now there is nothing in the underlying appropriations to pay for any of that. So this amendment is going to put a severe burden on them and if they do not comply, Amtrak will shut down.”

   The measure lays out the following guidelines:

• Before checking the bag or boarding the train, the passenger must declare that the firearm or pistol is in his or her bag and is unloaded.
• The firearm or pistol must be carried in a hard-sided container.
• The hard-sided container must be locked, and only the passenger has the combination or key.