Parrots Save Man's Life

A homeowner shot to death an intruder Tuesday after his parrot alerted him that someone was on the property, police said.

Dennis Baker, who keeps several pet birds, said his Mexican Redheaded parrot named Salvador says "hello" when he sees someone. As someone passed by a window at his home, Salvador began saying "Hello, hello," awaking Baker from a sound sleep.

Baker approached John Woodson, 46, in a detached garage, and shot him. Woodson was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he died, Dallas police Sgt. Larry Lewis said.

Lewis said the home, also used as a locksmith shop, had been burglarized four times this month.

"They were coming here like they owned the place. I hate what happened, but somebody has to do what's necessary," Baker said in the online edition of The Dallas Morning News. "The fifth time is enough. It's not something you want to do, but you have to do."

Police said they would turn the case over to a grand jury.

On Sunday, a welding-shop owner fatally shot one intruder and wounded another in the second such fatal shooting at the business in three weeks. No charges were expected in those cases.

A bill passed earlier this year by state lawmakers this year gives Texans a stronger legal right to defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, vehicles, and workplaces. The so-called "castle doctrine" states that a person has no duty to retreat from an intruder before using deadly force.

Gun Owners Are Law Abiding? Libs Plead "Say it Ain't So"

Michigan anti-gunners predicted disaster when the Legislature permitted ordinary citizens to carry concealed pistols.

You know the typical catch-phrases they use. "Blood flowing in the streets." "Back to the lawless wild West." "Legalized murder." Ad nauseum.

They predicted the same thing when the Castle Doctrine went into effect last year.

What most libs don't know, or won't acknowledge, is that Michigan tracks CPL-holder crime statistics and make the reports available to everyone online at the State Police website. It turns out that Michigan CPL holders are extremely law-abiding - especially compared to the rest of the population.

As of the last report, there were well over 100,000 CPL-holders in Michigan. This accounts for over 1% of the total population and over 3% of the adult, non-institutionalized population.

The report includes all crimes that CPL holders were charged with during the year, including crimes that have no connection to firearms at all.

CPL holders, for the entire year, were charged with a total of 548 crimes. Of those, there were only 175 convictions. There were 101 instances of brandishing or using the pistol total. 148 crimes did NOT involve the use of a firearm.

What's this mean?

Even if we assume convictions on all the pending crimes that involved brandishing or using the pistol, there are only about 100 gun crimes per 100,000 CPL holders. This means that more than 99.9% of CPL holders committed NO GUN CRIMES AT ALL for the last year that data has been compiled.

CPL holders don't spill blood all over the streets - and they have a better law abiding record than overall law enforcement in this state. I'm not saying cops are dirty. I am saying that there are a higher percentage of cops convicted of (both firearm and non-firearm) crimes than CPL holders.

The stats on the Castle Doctrine are almost as devastating to lib arguments. The Detroit Free Press, of all publications, published an article on the first anniversary of the Castle Doctrine legislation. Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said:

Of course, you're going to get a case once in a while where someone's out waving a gun or something, but overall, most people are responsible.

And that's as bad as it got! From the Free Press!

Sheriff Hackel continued explaining that the law was very basic - it's about self-defense:

I get asked all the time: 'What does self-defense mean?' Every case is going to be reviewed individually by police agencies and prosecutors. It boils down to the totality of circumstances: Do they feel their life is in imminent jeopardy?

It's the same level that we use in guidelines for police to use force.

While the libs rely on scare tactics, all the evidence shows that Michigan CPL holders, and gun owners in general, are law-abiding men and women.

Click here to view the latest report (period ending June 2006) from the Michigan State Police website.

Concealed Carry Holder Thwarts Robbery

Viewer discretion is advised! This video shows a man using a concealed pistol violently against an armed robber to defend innocent lives. The criminal was shot. Do not watch if this will disturb you.


Stats: All 3 shots fired hit the bad guy. The gun was a Glock 23, .40 cal using 165grain Gold dots.
(h/t USCCA)

News Story:

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police said a desk clerk shot a man who was attempting to rob an east side motel on Saturday night. Officers said that shortly before 9:30 p.m., a man walked into the Super 8 Motel, located at 2055 Brice Rd., showed a gun and demanded money. Police said the desk clerk on duty then shot the alleged robber, Antoine Stephens.

Stephens, 20, was transported to Grant Medical Center and was in serious condition on Sunday morning, NBC 4 reported. Police said he would be charged with aggravated robbery. No charges filed against the shooter.

USCCA tip:
To me, this video makes it look like the Good Guy put two innocent by-standers very close to the line of fire. I am not judging his actions one way or another, as I have to assume that he used his best judgment, and probably determined that he would be putting their lives in greater risk by not acting. I'll leave it up to you!

My analysis:
GFWs will lament that a man defended people. They'd much prefer to see 4 people dead and the police arrest the murderer/armed robber months later.

SWAT says No to Self-Defense in Schools

A former Marine and member of the Saginaw Police Department's SWAT team, Arthur O'Neal has undergone hundreds of hours of handgun training and fired thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Given the risk of having relatively untrained citizens bearing firearms, would the Saginaw School District's chief of security ever approve of teachers packing heat on campus

?

No, not by a long shot, O'Neal said.

"It won't help stop crime, it may lead to more," O'Neal said. "Too many people with guns doesn't help an issue."

A western Michigan lawmaker has proposed legislation to allow school staff to carry weapons. Arming teachers with handguns would make students and terrorists think twice before attacking a school, said David Agema, a Grandville Republican.

"Right now, the only people who enter school with guns are people who intend to do harm," Agema said.

"I believe it will save lives if a kid or somebody comes into a school and starts shooting again."

Ok, first things first. "Packing heat"??? What is this, some black & white noir-detective flick? Come on, if you are going to belittle this plan, at least use a good put-down.

Second, how will this plan lead to more crime? It can't. Guns don't make people break laws.

Third, SWAT and standard cops aren't much good after some whack-job shoots out a school and then kills himself. Did they help in Columbine? VA Tech?

Guns may make some people feel uncomfortable. So should terrorists and random nut-cases. It's time to stop burying the head in the sand and waiting for the police to take care of the problem. In a school shooting situation - it's just plain fact: the cops won't arrive until it is too late. This is not a slam - they can't arrive until someone reports a crime. Even after the phone call, police cars don't magically show up. It takes time - lots of time in some neighborhoods.

Eliminate Criminal Empowerment Zones at Schools

Are you as sick of hearing about nut cases walking into schools and unloading as I am?

Now there is something we can do about it.

Michigan House Bill 5162 may be our best bet yet.

Michigan schools are "pistol-free zones" according to state law. No law-abiding citizen with a CPL may carry a pistol into a school... although - surprise - mass murderers don't understand that both carrying in a school and premeditated murder are against the law. "Pistol-free zones" are simply criminal empowerment zones.

This bill essentially allows the principal of each school in Michigan to authorize CPL-holding school employees to carry concealed pistols on school property. The bill also allows Principals to require training above and beyond the necessary training to obtain a CPL under current law.

I know all the complaints against this kind of action, but once people realize we don't live in a Pollyanna world, I hope they will see this should protect their kids. Sure, it isn't a perfect bill, but it does at least plant some doubt in the minds of predators about whether school employees might be equipped to take action in case of an emergency. And it offers a chance for clear-thinking principals, faculty and staff to shoot back if required to in defense of students or themselves.

Our kids lives are worth protecting.

Out of Washington state:

Two pit bull terriers broke into a house through a pet door Tuesday and attacked a woman in her bed, mauling her badly, a Pierce County sheriff's spokesman said.

The woman was able to grab a gun and try to shoot the dogs, then break away from the attack and lock herself in her car, where she called 911, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

[...]

Officers planned to talk to the dogs' owner.

Ya think?

Firefighters responded first, locking the dogs in the house, treating the woman and calling for an ambulance.

Officers "had to pepper spray and fight the dogs until they were detained. We almost had to shoot them on site," Troyer said.

Why not pull out the 12 gauge and get rid of them? What is the deal? They maul a lady, kill other animals, then the cops have to pepper spray them? Give me a break.

This Guy Gives Me Hope

From The Collegiate Times, one of the best pro-2A editorials I have ever read, bar none. This piece, written by Jonathan McGlumphy, is so sensible, even a fraternity brother could understand it.

I read with interest last week’s column on the issue of concealed carry on campus (“Guns on campus would be disastrous”, CT, July 12). I have my philosophical disagreements with the article, but first I would like to point out several pieces of information that were either misleading or flat-out incorrect. Let me also qualify this by saying that I am a holder of a Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP), so I can truthfully say I know what I am talking about.

Point #1: There is not one single statute banning CHP holders from carrying on campus. The so-called gun ban is a Virginia Tech policy that applies only to students, faculty and staff. The maximum penalty for violation of this policy is expulsion for students or termination for faculty and staff. There is no criminal penalty whatsoever. Additionally, Virginia’s Attorney General has opined that the Board of Visitors has no legal grounds to prohibit the general public from concealed carry on campus.

Point #2: The author of last week’s column writes “I don’t trust someone to walk around with something that can kill me just because he has paid the permit fee and has a piece of paper that says he is competent with a handgun.”

First of all, to get that “piece of paper,” I underwent eight hours of classroom training (including instruction from a law enforcement officer), as well as spending an entire day at the shooting range demonstrating that I understood firearms safety. Secondly, you don’t just “pay the permit fee.” You undergo an extensive criminal background check, so much so that they ask you to provide every physical address you’ve had for the past five years.

Point #3: The author describes a situation in which someone has a gun in his or her bag and accidentally drops it, resulting in a discharge. Guns do not simply “go off” because they were dropped. Someone must put his or her finger directly on the trigger and squeeze with anywhere from 4 to 12 pounds of force. Any instance of someone getting shot accidentally is not because the gun “just went off.” It is because someone broke the cardinal rules of firearms safety and had his or her finger on the trigger with the barrel pointed in a non-safe direction.

Point #4: The author writes, “...logic says that more guns mean more gun-related incidents.” I cannot provide any hard data on the number of firearms in Virginia because we do not have gun registration. However, I will point out that in 1995 — the year that Virginia became a “shall-issue” state — there were only a few thousand CHP holders in the Commonwealth. Currently there are over 120,000 CHP holders.

Now let us consider the level of violent crime over that same time period. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR) the rate of all violent crime in 1995 in Virginia was 361.5 per 100,000 residents, with the rate of murder being 7.6 per 100,000.
In 2005, the UCR reported Virginia’s rate of violent crime as being 282.8 per 100,000, and murder 6.1 per 100,000.

So my question is that if we now have significantly more CHP holders as we did 12 years ago, why has the rate of violent crime has not skyrocketed? Obviously, armed citizens are not the only factor that affects crime rates, but the author’s claim that more guns automatically lead to more crime is questionable in the face of these numbers.

The author also seems to think that a student who is armed would casually take a life over something so petty as a poor grade in a class. Let’s consider Utah, where concealed carry on campus by CHP holding students is allowed by state law. I am not aware of any incidents in recent history of a legally armed student committing a firearm assault at a Utah university.

Having gone over the facts, let me insert my own opinions. The author claims to be a believer in the Second Amendment. I am a believer of all 10 Amendments listed in the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment. However, I don’t go calling for restrictions on free speech when someone prints a column full of misleading information.

Let’s go back to Point #1: that the firearms ban only applies to students, faculty and staff. What if Virginia Tech were to enact a policy of “free-speech zones” restricting or prohibiting what students can say and where they can say it? I don’t think there would be too much support for that. So why is it OK to restrict one civil liberty but not another?

The author further derides CHP holders by insinuating that we are cowboys just itching to get into a gunfight. In my experience, this could not be further from the truth. One of the very first things I was told in my CHP training was to do my very best to avoid any situation where I might even need a gun. CHP holders are taught that a firearm is to be used only in the very gravest extreme, when all other options of saving your life — or someone else’s — have failed.

I do agree with the author on one point, though. He says that we as a culture need to move away from the notion that violence is a solution to our problems. It does bother me that violence is glorified in our news media, entertainment industry and even our federal government (only then it’s called war).

However, there is a difference between aggressive violence and defensive violence. I will not sit and wait for the police to arrive and save me when the Chos and Morvas of the world come around. The police are neither legally obligated to protect citizens (according to the Supreme Court) nor are the always able. Self-defense is both an individual right and an individual responsibility.

Having a gun available is just one of many options of self-defense, brains and wits being the first and foremost.

Good News from our Northern Neighbors

Good news out of Ottawa, Canada:

A federally commissioned poll of "stakeholders" selected by the government to comment on potential changes to gun control found more opposition than support for tighter restrictions.

In the wake of the Dawson College shooting rampage in Montreal last September that left one dead and 19 wounded, the Conservative government said it would still move to kill the long-gun registry, but promised to toughen screening of gun owners.

It has yet to actually pass its bill to eliminate the registry, or bring in other regulations that would achieve the "more streamlined and effective" gun control system it promised.

When tougher screening measures were presented to participants in the survey, they were more often poorly received, while changes that appeared to lessen the burden on gun owners, such as dropping a five-year licence renewal requirement, were supported by a majority of participants.

[...]

Overall, it found 50 per cent opposed to a requirement for "a more robust set of background references," saying the current system is already sufficient. About 38 per cent supported more references. About 10 per cent were "neutral," the survey said.

There were similar responses to the other tougher licence screening measures.

So, Canadian citizens don't want more government interference. The Canadian government commissioned a research company, Ekos, to do the study. What do they recommend?

And Ekos [the research company conducting this survey for the government] also warned the results "should be interpreted with caution."

If you can't stand behind your work, why charge the government for this study?

Who is Getting the Oklahoma CCW Licenses?

Addendum to the previous post:

In 2006, the state approved nearly twice as many concealed-handgun licenses for people in Tulsa County as in Oklahoma County, according to the Self Defense Act Statistical Report, issued by the OSBI.

Among the increasing number of Oklahomans who are are obtaining licenses are more elderly people and women than in previous years.

"There’s been a great increase in elderly folks and ladies,” said Robert Welch, a concealed-handgun license instructor in Tulsa. “Before, it was about 90 percent middle-aged males. Now it’s at least 50 percent female and senior citizens."

Armed and Licensed: Concealed carry law hitting mark

From the Sooner State:

If the number of concealed-handgun license holders is any indication, robbers may have to worry about getting more than stolen goods during a heist.

With an increasing number of state residents legally packing heat, more robbers may be taking away some hot lead.

More than 54,000 Oklahomans are licensed to carry concealed handguns under the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, said Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. That number is up from around 31,000 in 2000 and 15,081 in 1996, after the first year of licensing. Once approved, applicants are licensed to carry concealed weapons for five years. After five years, they are required to renew their application.

In the beginning, some people thought a wave of shootings by license holders would occur, but those fears have proved to be unfounded, Brown said.

"There's very little of that, quite frankly," she said. "Most people don't want to hurt each other."

Former state Sen. Frank Shurden, who sponsored the bill that led to the law, said he had tried to get the bill through the Legislature for several years but that fears of more shootings and of a more dangerous work environment for law enforcement officers held it back.

"They didn't have confidence in law-abiding citizens like I did, but they do now," said Shurden, a Democrat from Henryetta. "They claimed that every fender bender would be a shootout."

Shurden said he is pleased with the law's results more than 10 years after it went into effect.

"They (license holders) have to be good, upstanding people. That's one reason it worked so well," he said.

"I've always been of the opinion that when good, law-abiding citizens are armed, we're all safer. I'm real satisfied with the way the law is working."

Robert Welch, a Tulsa concealed-weapon license instructor, and Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham both noted that there have been instances in which a license holder has foiled a robbery or other crime.

Last November, a man who Tulsa police say had just committed a burglary, stolen a car and fled from police crashed the car and then accosted a bystander with a knife. The victim, a concealed-handgun license holder, pulled his weapon on the man, prompting him to flee.

In March 2006, a customer with a concealed-handgun license shot an armed man who was attempting to rob a supermarket near 91st Street and Memorial Drive.

This year in the Tulsa area, there have been three shootings -- one fatal -- by people who have concealed-carry licenses. Police say the two shootings in Tulsa were sparked by traffic altercations that became physical and ended with the license holders shooting people they said had physically assaulted them.

In the first shooting, which occurred at 18th Street and Boston Avenue in April, police say a motorist who had to stop for a pedestrian shot the pedestrian's friend during a resulting altercation. The man who was shot was treated at a hospital and released. The motorist was charged with recklessly handling a firearm and has pleaded not guilty.

On June 10, police say a retired security guard fatally shot a man during a road-rage-sparked confrontation in a parking lot in the 1900 block of Riverside Drive. The retired guard told police that he feared for his life when the other man verbally and physically assaulted him. He has not been charged with any crime.

In Muskogee last weekend, police said a pastor who holds a concealed-weapon license shot a man who, along with some juveniles, tried to rob his church's fireworks tent. The minister said he feared for his life and that of the teenager who was watching the tent with him.

The shooting victim was arrested in connection with the burglary attempt after he was released from the hospital, police said.

Willingham said that, in their duties, most police officers rarely come across concealed-handgun license holders.

"Most people who go through the trouble of getting a concealed-carry permit are not committing crimes," he said. "By and large, the people with concealed-carry permits are not the ones we're coming in contact with."

Welch agreed.

"Most goofballs and hot heads don't think to go and get a permit," he said. "Mostly, it's people who are law-abiding in nature."

Brown and Welch said increased exposure to terrorism, war and violent crime through the media may play a role in why more people are arming themselves.

During classes applicants must take before they can obtain a license, they must show that they know how to shoot and properly handle a firearm.

They also are instructed on how to tell a police officer -- should they come into contact with one -- that they have a concealed weapon.

"Do we worry? No," Willingham said. "We know people with concealed-carry permits are not the type of people out there committing crimes. Your gang-bangers, armed robbers -- they're not the ones going through the class and paying the fee."

England... Land of the Anti-Self-Defense Clowns

This lovely news out of England - but several Republicans and Democrats want to import it here as soon as possible.

First the story, then some analysis.

A shopkeeper has been fined £250 and given a criminal record because he fought back when he was attacked by shoplifters.

Jacob Smyth chased three youths out of his hardware shop in Penzance, Cornwall, when he was set upon. When he was kicked in the groin by one of the hooded youths who had stolen cans of spray paint Mr Smyth hit back.

Police issued fixed penalty tickets to the shoplifters but charged Mr Smyth and a colleague with assault.

Yesterday he pleaded guilty to assault at Truro Magistrates’ Court. He claimed after the hearing that he had been advised to plead guilty because otherwise he could have faced a six month prison sentence.

The court was told that Mr Smyth, a father of three, caught the youths stealing the spray cans in October last year. Two of them turned on him and he was kicked in his groin just weeks after a vasectomy operation. He retaliated and punched 18-year-old Craig Spiller to the ground.

Paul Gallagher, defending, said: “The court can only imagine what they intended to do with that spray paint. He could see the cans poking out of their pockets. He leant forward to get them and at that stage he was set upon.

“He did punch one of them to get him off. In the heat of the moment he kicked him once or twice. Initially he was acting in self defence. Frustration at the situation took over. The lads were interviewed and given fixed penalty notices by police but unfortunately for Mr Smyth ended up in court today.

“He was the one who was trying to do the right thing and get his stolen property back.”

Julian Herbert, prosecuting, said the “aggravating factor” of the case was shop staff “taking the law into their own hands”. Fining Mr Smyth £250 and ordering him to pay £43 costs, Angy Haslam, chairman of the magistrates, said: “The act was aggravated by the fact you kicked the victim on the ground. We feel it has been mitigated because you acted in self defence.”

Speaking outside court, Mr Smyth said: “I did nothing wrong. I was getting a good beating from this lad. I had no choice but to defend myself.

“We get shoplifters all the time one after the other. We call the police but nothing is ever done. We called them on this occasion and ran after the lads to try and get my property back but then they turned on us. “Am I not allowed to protect my stock and premises from thieves?”

Mr Smyth’s colleague Jason Pascoe, 34, has also been charged with two counts of common assault and will appear in court at a later date.

I don't really know what to say, other than what is it about governments that want a bunch of passive, crime-accepting citizens? Shame on those in the British anti-self-defense movement.

Second, the comments online (as of writing this post) are quite favorable (or should I write "favourable" since we are talking about Britain) to the shopkeeper and against the foolish government actions. The British take a lot of heat from the American pro-gun and pro-self-defense community. Stuff like this shows how much the citizenry realizes they have a right to self-defense, a right their government is denying them. Their leadership has betrayed them, sold them a "feel good" bill of goods that sounds good, but doesn't work. Sound familiar here in the USA?

Third, this kind of thinking is all over the USA as well. The Castle Doctrine laws, in part, are a response to this kind of anti-self-defense blatherskite. How ironic and tragic that the idea - a man's home is his castle - comes out of the English system.

Florida Woman with a .38 and Concealed Carry Permit vs. Pitbull

Slow day in Michigan... so here is another Florida story.

Warning - there are a few graphic details

Memories of an Easter Sunday pit bull attack four years ago came rushing back to Christine Bruce on Monday night as a pit bull charged toward her while she was jogging with her dogs.

Unlike four years ago, this time she was ready.

She pulled out her .38-caliber handgun and fired a shot at the charging pit bull as she was screaming at it to stop, she said Tuesday in a telephone interview.

The attack four years ago -- a pit bull ripped open part of a body cast on her right arm while she was recovering from spinal surgery -- prompted Bruce to start carrying the gun for self-defense, she said.

Bruce said she normally walks and runs every day with her two labs and a German shepherd.

According to a Volusia County sheriff's report, Bruce, 44, was jogging with her dogs at 8:13 p.m. when she saw [a man] standing in front of his house at 1435 Gainesville Drive with a white pit bull on a leash. She said [the man] started exciting the dog and when she asked him to stop, he let the dog go and told it to attack her.

"The dog was inside the house barking and then [he] opens the door and comes out with the pit bull on a leash," Bruce said. "I kept running to get away but then I looked back and he let go the leash and the dog."

Afraid for her and her dogs, Bruce retrieved the handgun from her bag and fired at the charging pit bull. She missed the dog but the sound of the gunshot scared it away, the report states.

Bruce has a concealed weapon's permit, sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. The case has been turned over to Deltona Animal Control for review, Haught said.

[The man], 47, was issued a warning by a city Animal Control officer to keep his dog under control, city spokesman Lee Lopez said.

Concealed Carry Subway Customer Shoots Robber

News out of Florida

Warning - there are a few graphic details

Police said 71-year-old John Lovell II used a licensed gun to shoot the alleged robbers at the Subway on North Pine Island Road and Sunrise Boulevard.

[...]

According to investigators, two armed men entered the restaurant, pointing guns and demanding money. Lovell turned around and saw a gun pointed at his face. Plantation police said that's when he took action.

"As the customer was being forced into the restroom at gunpoint, the customer, who was in fear for his life and legally armed, shot the robbery suspects," said Plantation Police Department spokesman Robert Rittig.

Police said one of the suspects was fatally shot in the head.

[...]

The other suspect,[...], was shot in the chest and was able to run nearly 300 yards into a nearby Bank Atlantic parking lot while trying to escape, police said.

The surviving robbery suspect was charged with armed robbery and murder because someone was killed while the perp was allegedly committing a felony - even though he didn't shoot his partner-in-crime.

Lovell's neighbor Wendi Hill said she spoke with Lovell several times Thursday morning.

"He said everything happened in less than four seconds," Hill said.

She said it didn't surprise her at all that Lovell took action against the robbers.

"He's a very smart guy," she said. "I mean, retired pilot, retired ex-Marine."

Police said Lovell will not be charged with a crime. There is surveillance video of the incident, but police had not yet released it as of Thursday evening.

More on Eliminating Gun-Free Zones in Michigan

As written last week, Michigan CPL holders are forbidden to carry in many areas, and one state senator is trying to eliminate these criminal empowerment zones.

Currently, these are the Gun-Free areas:

1. Schools or school property but may carry while in a vehicle on school property while dropping off or picking up if a parent or legal guardian
2. Public or private day care center, public or private child caring agency, or public or private child placing agency.
3. Sports arena or stadium.
4. A tavern where the primary source of income is the sale of alcoholic liquor by the glass consumed on the premises.
5. Any property or facility owned or operated by a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other place of worship, unless the presiding official allows concealed weapons.
6. An entertainment facility that the individual knows or should know has a seating capacity of 2,500 or more.
7. A hospital.
8. A dormitory or classroom of a community college, college, or university.
9. A Casino
   

"Premises" does not include the parking areas of the places listed above in 1 through 8.

A pistol is subject to immediate seizure if the CCW permit holder is carrying a pistol in a "pistol free" area. The following penalties may also be imposed:

* First offense: State Civil Infraction, $500 fine, CCW permit suspended 6 months
* Second offense: 90-day misdemeanor, $1000 fine, CCW permit revoked
* Third and subsequent offenses: 4-year felony, $5000 fine, CCW permit revoked

Furthermore, effective March 29, 2001, per Administrative Order 2001-1 of the Michigan Supreme Court:

"Weapons are not permitted in any courtroom, office, or other space used for official court business or by judicial employees unless the chief judge or other person designated by the chief judge has given prior approval consistent with the court's written policy."

House Bill 4759, introduced by Rep. Daniel Acciavatti and sponsored by Reps. Jacob Hoogendyk, Kenneth Horn, John Stahl, Paul Opsommer, Kim Meltzer, and Arlan Meekhof simply states:

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 5c. (1) A license to carry a concealed pistol shall be in a form, with the same dimensions as a Michigan operator license, prescribed by the department of state police. The license shall contain all of the following:
(a) The licensee's full name and date of birth.

(b) A photograph and a physical description of the licensee.

(c) A statement of the effective dates of the license.

(d) An indication of exceptions authorized by this act applicable to the licensee.

(e) An indication whether the license is a duplicate.

(2) Subject to section 5o and except Except as otherwise provided by law, a license to carry a concealed pistol issued by the county concealed weapon licensing board authorizes the licensee to do all of the following:
(a) Carry a pistol concealed on or about his or her person anywhere in this state.

(b) Carry a pistol in a vehicle, whether concealed or not concealed, anywhere in this state.

Enacting section 1. Section 5o of 1927 PA 372, MCL 28.425o, is repealed.

Eliminating "Gun-Free Zones" in Michigan

We all know about the tragedy of "gun-free zones", a.k.a. "criminal empowerment zones" or CEZs. Now a state rep has the fortitude to do something about it. Rep. Daniel J. Acciavatti introduced House Bill 4759 to eliminate CEZs.

Here is a letter he wrote to the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, posted on the MCRGO website:

June 12, 2007 -- In 2000 when the Michigan Legislature originally passed concealed weapons legislation, they created so-called "gun free safe zones" to protect Michigan’s citizens. The intent of such legislation is to provide an area where firearms are forbidden and thus make those areas "safer". In effect, two groups of people carry firearms in safe zones: police officers and criminals.

A real life game of "cops and robbers" plays out in these areas while law-abiding citizens are stripped of the ability to defend themselves and must rely on the state and the state alone. These gun-free safe zones are dangerous areas where criminals can target powerless citizens.

Currently, Michigan has nine specific areas which concealed weapon license (CPL) holders are banned from carrying a concealed weapon. These include:

1- Schools or school property; 2- Public or private day care centers; 3- Sports arenas or stadiums; 4- A tavern or bar where the primary source of income is the sale of alcohol/liquor consumed on the premises; 5- Any property of facility owned or operated by a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, other place of worship; 6- An entertainment facility that has a seating capacity of 2,500 or more; 7- A hospital; 8- A dormitory or classroom of a community college, college or university; and 9- Casinos.

Office buildings, hospitals, convenience stores, Post Office buildings, day care centers, schools, universities and chain restaurants have all been targets of shootings with the intent on killing multiple victims. A striking paradox is associated with these incidents because they are much more likely to occur in areas that have been designated as gun free zones.

Schools became a popular target for shootings in the mid 1990’s, around the time that the Gun Free School Zones act of 1994 was enacted. In 1999, John Lott and William Landes published an extensive statistical study of multiple shootings incidents. They showed that mass shootings occur less often in areas where responsible citizens are allowed permits to carry concealed weapons. Have you ever heard of a mass shooting in a police station, a pistol range, or a gun show? Criminals always select a softer target for their acts of violence where they know citizens are unarmed, vulnerable, and where they know people cannot shoot back at them.

Some say we need tougher gun control laws and that allowing guns in selected areas is going to increase crime. However, reports show that crime increases in selected areas that require the citizens to disarm before entering. Citizens with CPL licenses abide by the law and disarm when asked to do so; but criminals with the intent to harm never follow the law and disarm.

Concealed weapon license holders are some of the most law abiding citizens in our state. Over the past five years 203,051 concealed weapon permits have been issued in Michigan and only 671 licenses have been revoked. That equals less than one percent (actually .34%) of all issued licenses that have been revoked.

As a State Representative I was elected to pass laws which protect the citizens of Michigan. That is why I introduced House Bill 4759 into the Michigan House of Representatives on May 15, 2007. This legislation would eliminate the above nine safe zones for all concealed weapon license holders.

I believe this legislation is imperative in protecting Michigan’s citizens. Currently, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on Judiciary and is awaiting a committee hearing. Good intentions do not necessarily make good laws. What counts is whether the law ultimately saves lives. Unfortunately, our current laws primarily disarm law-abiding citizens and not criminals.

--Representative Daniel J. Acciavatti

CPL Holder Wins A Battle

Here in Detroit:

A 53-year old man was attacked by two thugs, one carrying a .22 and one armed with a baseball bat.

A robbery and crime spree aided by an unloaded gun came to a halt late Thursday when the gunman met more than his match: a gun with bullets.

Charles Parker Jr., 18, of Detroit was killed when a 53-year-old man pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot the teen, who was armed with an unloaded .22-caliber handgun.

Detroit police are calling it self-defense.

The botched carjacking on Grand River and Prevost came after a string of robberies in Detroit on Thursday, which police said were committed by Parker and four others, ranging in age from 16 to 20.

The good news:

After the shooting, police questioned the 53-year-old man and released him, noting that he had a valid concealed weapons permit.

Then they gave him back his gun.

Carjacker Beats 91-Year-Old Man as Bystanders Look On

Out of Detroit, from Fox News:

A convenience store surveillance video shows each punch 91-year-old Leonard Sims took to the side of his face during a carjacking.

But the tape also caught a group of people standing only feet away who either didn't see the attack or chose not to get involved.

Mr. Sims was outside his car in the store parking lot about 8:30 p.m. when a man walked up and asked for a light for his cigarette. The man then pummelled Mr. Sims, a World War II veteran, hitting him at least 21 times in the head.

Our local police chief said the crime is "one of the most heinous" she's seen in years and is upset the bystanders did nothing. I thought the bystanders did exactly what they were trained to do. Nothing. See some old man getting pummeled? Do nothing. See someone attacked on the streets? Do nothing. Don't get involved and call 911. That's what the bystanders did. Except for the 911 part.

Crooks Pick the Wrong Victim

Crooks picked the wrong guy to pick on at Eastland Mall in Harper Woods (a suburb on Detroit's north border). From the Detroit News:

Two would-be thieves wound up fleeing their intended victim Saturday afternoon.

The men, one armed with a handgun, tried to carjack a man in the Sears parking lot about 2 p.m. at Eastland mall, according to a Harper Woods Police press release.

But the man turned out to be a retired Detroit Police officer -- and he had a handgun, Harper Woods Police said.

The retired officer fired one shot at the men, striking the stolen Dodge Durango truck they were driving, police said.

Detroit Police found the truck on Buckingham Street, but the suspects were gone. No one was harmed in the shooting and Harper Woods Police detectives are investigating the case.

Michigan State Senator Wants to Eliminate Gun-Free Zones

This is somewhat dated news (coming to light right after the VT tragedy), but very interesting. I saw it first on the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owner's site.

State Senator Alan Cropsey (R-DeWitt), the man who led the legislative charge for our new Castle Doctrine protections, wants to eliminate gun-free zones (aka Criminal Empowerment Zones).

As highlighted in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot, Cropsey declares "It's time that the American people say the Second Amendment should apply everywhere."

Of course, Michigan's Bastion of Socialism, Ann Arbor, has a State Senator who disagrees. She was Ann Arbor's mayor when I briefly taught at the U of Michigan - and hasn't changed at all.

Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, says it is time Michigan and other states investigate ways to learn about an applicant's mental-health history when issuing gun permits.

"We need to revisit the whole system of background checks and make it much more thorough," Brater said. "It's just much too lax."

I'll skip the expected liberal response and focus on Senator Cropsey:

Cropsey is among gun advocates who say the nation's campuses should be deregulated to allow professors to carry concealed weapons, eliminating what he calls "victim zones" where gunless people are left defenseless.

One valid reason for more guns on campus, he said, is because there is no armed security at most private colleges.

pring Arbor University and Albion College both operate safety departments staffed by officers who are neither sworn nor armed. Both schools rely on local police to provide protection, officials said.

Cropsey pointed to one instance in last week's tragedy where a professor died trying to block a door so his students could escape Cho's rampage.

"How come that professor wasn't allowed to defend himself?" Cropsey said. "We need to say, 'Educators have the right to defend themselves. They have a right to defend their classrooms.' "

As an interesting side note, the Executive Director of the Michigan Psychiatric Society is against "mental health evaluations" for those who want to purchase a gun.

Kathleen Gross, executive director of the Michigan Psychiatric Society, said it would be difficult to regulate guns based on mental illness and ensure accuracy, fairness and that it "holds up to constitutional muster."

"We can't predict behavior. We can kind of evaluate who might benefit from treatment."

Terrorism in Michigan

I've been to four or five weddings at this church. What happened here really caught my eye.

If you are an anti-gunner, please tell me what you would do in this situation, before the police nabbed the bad guy. Please tell me how a firearm wouldn't be a part of your self-defense.

This happened in Troy, a suburb of north of Detroit. These threats occurred during the same time period as when another disgruntled employee shot up an accounting office just a few miles away.

A displaced music director at the Evanswood Church of God faces four terrorism-related charges over e-mail threats to conduct a "Columbine or Virginia Tech type killing" aimed at 13 church members, police said.

Roy Owen Yaryan, 56, of Rochester Hills, was arraigned Tuesday and is held in lieu of $750,000 cash bond pending his preliminary exam in Troy's 52-4 District Court.

Troy Police Lt. Gerry Scherlinck said Yaryan sent out e-mails under the name of Evanswood Church of God Pastor A.C. Phipps while describing himself as having a Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality.

"The e-mail indicated the recipients were about to see his Mr. Hyde side, as he was planning a Columbine or Virginia Tech-type killing at services the follow Sunday (April 29)," Scherlinck said.

Church officials at the 150 member congregation at 2601 Square Lake Road cancelled the services, but have reopened since Yaryan's arrest, an unidentified woman at the church said.

A worker at the church said Phipps was out-of-state and on vacation.

However, the church did issue a statement reading: "Thank you for your concern for our congregation at Evanswood Church of God. We understand from Troy Police that an arrest has been made and their investigation continues. We view this as a time of healing for our congregation and the families involved."

A church Web site said Phipps joined the church in June2004 and has served 35 years as pastor at churches in Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Scherlinck said Yaryan had some "internal grudge" with the Evanswood Church of God pastor and the church's leadership team.

"My understanding is that he was the music director and they replaced him," Scherlinck said. "But there were other things he also didn't agree with."

Yaryan, Scherlinck said, took elaborate steps to disguise his computer trail from the victims.

"We have a forensic computer investigator who found software and encryptions," Scherlinck said. "(Yaryan) sent e-mails out of the country and back to victims to protect his identity."

Troy police executed a search warrant at Yaryan's residence on April 27 and confiscated two computers while no one was home, Scherlinck said.

Then on April 28, several members of the congregation received another threatening e-mail allegedly from Yaryan purporting to be the pastor. It contained the names of 13 church members indicating he intended to kill them, Scherlinck said.

The e-mail message indicated the sender knew the church had closed, but it was his intent to "engage in a mass killing whenever the church doors were re-opened," Scherlinck said.

Soon afterwards, police executed a second search warrant at Yaryan's house and found him inside with another computer that he tried to hide,

Scherlinck said. Police arrested Yaryan and confiscated the computer. Yaryan called the threats a "prank," Scherlinck said.

Oakland County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Paul Walton described the accusations against Yaryan as "very, very serious."

"I know his assertions will be he never intended (to carry out) this," Walton said. "But that is irrelevant. The crime occurred when the threat was made. The defendant has effectively terrorized a small church. He did this on April 25 and April 28 and both times he reported he would kill specific people."

Walton said Yaryan is married. Yaryan doesn't appear to have a previous criminal record, Walton added.

Yaryan is charged with two counts of false report or threat of terrorism and two counts of using a computer to commit a false report or threat of terrorism. All are felonies, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The alleged threats follow three workplace shootings on April 9 at Gordon Advisors, 1301 Long Lake Road, Troy.