Five O'Clock Friday: Beware Holiday Zombies

Christmas PSA.

Be careful out there!

HT Borepatch.

Parents Lobby To Keep Kids Unsafe

The Virginia Citizens Defense League alerting members on the efforts of the Virginia PTA.

The Virginia Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is distributing their 2018 Legislative Priorities and it looks like Michael Bloomberg wrote it.

What is the PTA doing lobbying against our civil rights?!  That is NOT what they are supposed to be doing and we need to let them know that.

Here is item #5 on their agenda:

5. Gun Violence Prevention

* Support legislation requiring and maintaining schools as gun-free zones
* Support increased penalties for possession, discharging or brandishing weapons within school buildings
* Support the right of Virginia's children to an education in an environment that is safe and non-violent
* Support universal background checks for the sale and possession of firearms and closing the gun show loophole

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OK, let's look at those items, one-by-one:

* Support legislation requiring and maintaining schools as gun-free zones

Gun-free zones are the PROBLEM, not the solution.  Over 90% of mass public shootings are in gun-free zones.  This policy endangers the safety in schools by giving the armed attacker the advantage.  The attacker knows that if the resource office isn't there, the attacker has total control of the school and can begin killing people immediately.  (Resource officers are not assigned to some schools and are not always present when they are assigned, as they might be in court or perhaps checking on another school.)  If the resource officer is there, then the attacker knows he will have to kill the officer first with a sneak attack and then the school is his to with as he pleases.

* Support increased penalties for possession, discharging or brandishing weapons within school buildings

It is ALREADY a FELONY to have a firearm on school property that is not unloaded and stowed in a vehicle (except CHP holders can have a loaded, concealed handgun in the vehicle as long as the CHP holder stays in their vehicle).  You can't really increase the penalty beyond that unless you make it a capital crime.

* Support the right of Virginia's children to an education in an environment that is safe and non-violent

Who does't want this?  But violence, including deadly violence, involves much more than just firearms, but that's really all the PTA is concerned with.

* Support universal background checks for the sale and possession of firearms and closing the gun show loophole

Most of the school killers are children, who can't yet purchase a gun and, therefore, are not subject to background checks of any kind.  Of those killers who are 18 or older, virtually all of them either passed a background check or stole their gun.  So universal background checks would make NO difference in reducing attacks on schools.  A background check for POSSESSION of a firearm is what Illinois has - works great in Chicago, doesn't it?  The fact that the PTA supports BOTH universal background checks AND closing the non-existing gun-show loophole, tells me they really don't understand either one.

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ACTION ITEMS

1)  If you are a member of the Virginia PTA, consider dropping your membership and be sure to tell them why you are not renewing.

2)  Contact both the president, Sarah Gross, and the Advocacy Chair, Kim Chandler, by email:

Email address: advocacy@vapta.org; president@vapta.org

Suggested Subject: The Virginia PTA should not be lobbying against our civil rights!

Suggested Message: (Updated June 14)

 I don't appreciate the Virginia PTA lobbying to restrict my civil right to own a gun and carry it for self-defense.  The Virginia PTA should be supporting our civil rights, not opposing them.  Schools being gun-free zones endanger students; it does not make them safer. Utah and New Hampshire schools are not gun-free zones and they haven't experienced the shootings that gun-free schools have in Virginia, Florida, Colorado, and other states.

Students who are too young to legally buy a gun commit most school shootings - they won’t have had a background check since the system only checks legal gun purchasers.  The older killers have either previously passed a background check or have stolen the gun. Either way, universal background checks will NOT reduce school violence.

The Virginia PTA needs to remove ALL gun-control advocacy from their legislative agenda and stay away from denying the civil rights of Virginia's gun owners.

Sincerely,


3)  You can also contact the PTA by phone: (804) 264-1234

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Whenever the left trots out the "do it for the children" angle, you can be sure they are just dancing in the blood of the dead in order distract from their real agenda. Nothing the VA PTA  proposes makes children safer. These proposals ONLY affect law abiding citizens. The agenda of "gun control" is control, not safety.

Remember, school officials in Parkland, Florida chose to ignore expert advise that would actually have made students safer. In fact, the school essentially AIDED the shooter through their inaction.

I've often quipped that sending your child to public schools might be akin to child abuse. That seems to be moving ever-closer to the truth.

Negligent Discharges

In the approximately nine years I've been playing gun games, I've seen a few DQ's for safety reasons. (The percentage of DQs to shooters is actually quite minuscule.) These are typically 180° violations, or negligent discharges when reloading or moving. In the interest of full disclosure, my own DQ was for a dropped gun. There's a reason for the strict safety rules in USPSA and IDPA and a reason all gun handling happens under the watchful eye of a safety officer. Thanks to those strict rules, the sports have an excellent safety record. Even experienced competitors make mistakes, and when it happens, it's only right that they are done for the day. It hurts, but if your brain isn't fully engaged, it could hurt even more more.

What brings this to mind? Recently, for the second time in about two years I witnessed a negligent discharge, up close. Neither was during a sanctioned match. The first time was when I arrived at the range as an acquaintance was leaving. He knew I was fan of SIG Sauer guns, and wanted to show me a SIG he had with him. We stood at the back of his pickup truck, he uncased the gun and went through his clearing routine; rack the slide, then drop the mag and pull the trigger. The round went right into the bed of his truck. Fortunately, I was very aware of his muzzle and had positioned myself to his side. This man is a very experienced shooter and retired federal law enforcement. 

The most recent occurrence was at another shooting club. I was standing at my car going through the gear I was going to need for shooting that day. Suddenly I heard what sounded like a gun shot, though the sound was somewhat muted. There was a bit of commotion two vehicles over, where I saw two men looking through the cab of their truck. I later heard bits of a conversation regarding "lowering the hammer on a 1911." 

Both of these events occurred at a gun club, but away from the firing line. Both events occurred at the gun owner's vehicle. Both shooters were showing the gun to someone or (apparently) otherwise distracted by another person. I've often remarked that one of the reasons I dislike "gun free zones" and gun shows is that people are fiddling with guns in their cars. There are times when I need to remove a firearm from my belt while in a vehicle. I strive to be attentive and undistracted when I find myself doing that.

Firearms are tools. In fact, they are relatively simple tools. And those four rules work pretty well. 

He Would Not Be Deterred From The Pub

Getting hit by the proverbial bus wasn't enough to keep Simon Smith from his destination.

Smith gets thrown 20 feet, dusts himself off and continues his quest.

More info on the lucky Smith here.

Five O'Clock Friday: Let's Be Careful Out There

It's the weekend! Enjoy, but remember that threats don't take weekends off.

Liberty University on Self Defense

At Liberty University they apparently take safety seriously. The Lynchburg, VA Christian university recognizes the very rare, but very real threat posed by an active shooter on campus. They also recognize the fact that law-abiding armed citizens might be the first responders in such a situation. Armed faculty or students may indeed be the only ones on hand to defend themselves and others from serious injury or death.

This week, Liberty also posted details of their new campus gun policy. It's nice to see an institution of higher learning taking positive steps in creating a safe environment, and not passing "feel good" regulations that actually keep students and faculty less safe. Mass shooters are cowards by nature, and focus their evil on places where they know their intended victims are not armed.

The advice in the Liberty video is certainly more useful than resorting to attacking a shooter with canned soup or relying on "improvised" weapons.

You Are On Your Own

I purposely have avoided writing on the breakdown of civilized society in Ferguson, MO and elsewhere. Frankly, anything I start to write, quickly turns into a rant of vile disgust at what we have witnessed. But, I would like to make one point. (Calming breath now.) If Ferguson teaches us anything, it's the fallacy of "The police will save me" and "Just dial 911" mindset so many people have when it comes to self-defense. The past few days should make it plainly clear that you are on your own when society breaks down. You are your own "first responder."

The riots in Ferguson were not a surprise. That violence was eminent was known for weeks leading up to the grand jury decision. Federal and local law enforcement were put in place. The night of the announcement, we saw pictures of police in riot gear standing at the ready. And what happened? For two days there was widespread rioting, looting and arson. Unimpeded rioting, looting and arson.

Sure there were a few arrests, but look at the pictures of the city now. It's very obvious that peace keepers were unable to prevent the widespread destruction. Indeed it now appears the lack of protection for citizens may have even been by design. In the aftermath of an unexpected event, like a natural disaster, or even another politically or racially charged crime, the violence would likely be far more widespread and be met with the same lack of resistance.

Watching TV Monday evening, we saw first hand just how fast the breakdown in civilized society happened. We are constantly reminded that the violence was from a small minority of citizens. But numbers and percentages mean little to those in danger. If law enforcement cannot protect a small area when the violence is planned openly in advance, how effective will it be when unexpected trouble arises, or spreads over a wider area?

Indeed, when citizens stand in defense, violence can be averted. That's been proven in the past. But we live in a time when many in government are openly hostile to the right of self-defense and few people are prepared to protect their property, themselves, and their families. We should certainly be asking "WHY" the violence in Ferguson and elsewhere was allowed to happen. But the more important concern is "WHAT" are we as private citizens going to do to avoid being victims of the same sort of violence in the future?

Gun Handle KOOLER

What could possibly go wrong?

Use at your own risk. You might end up like this guy with the poorly selected tattoo.

You shouldn't be drinking craft beer direct from the can anyway. 

Found here.

Sheep

"We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are dozens of times more likely to be killed, and thousands of times more likely to be seriously injured, by school violence than by school fires, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial.

The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their children is just too hard, so they choose the path of denial." 

- Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman, U.S. Army, Retired

Seems Like A Bad Idea

I actually got a knot in my stomach reading about this. A water balloon game in which your children can simulate "Russian Roulette" using a plastic pistol and water balloons. If the balloon doesn't pop, the gun is passed to the next person.

Less 'bang bang you're dead,' more 'boing, pop, you're slightly deaf.' The Balloon Russian Roulette is a harmless version of classic Russian Roulette, taking away the blood, murder case and disposal of a body. Ideal Birthday and Christmas gifts, Balloon Russian Roulette involves pointing a 'gun' at another persons head with a balloon attached to the front, pulling the trigger will either produce nothing...or a pin that pops the balloon!

I've never had any issues with toy guns for kids. Playing "Army," or "Cowboys and Indians" is part of growing up. And games with toy guns even can involve pointing the toy guns at your playmates. This pushes the envelope. One of the comments on the Amazon page stated, "This game is a wonderful way to teach kids of all ages about statistics, probability, and handgun safety." I see the wrong lessons coming out of this. Here's a better idea, take them to the range teach your kids actual gun safety. And show them what a bullet will do to a watermelon.

Would You Shop Here?

Imagine this sign hanging on the door of a business. Good guys would be safe here. Bad guys not so much. That's just the way it should be.

Contrast the business owner that would post that sign, with the management of Circle K stores. A Florida store was being held up by armed thugs, and one of them was urging her accomplice to shoot the clerk. The clerk reacted in defense of his life and tackled the robber. As a result the clerk was fired for his actions. Apparently Circle K considers their employees to be no more than expendable collateral, while wishing for the well-being of armed criminals.

Welcome sign available here.