From the Colorado Springs Gazette comes this report:

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa wants more guns – not for his deputies, but for citizens. “Offenders in the jail system tell me they avoid crimes against people because they know there is a very high concealed-carry rate,” Maketa told The Gazette.

Read the rest of the story here

HatTip to Say Uncle

On Saturday a homeowner shot a burglar when he surprised the scumbag in his home. Here is the local news story on the incident. It is wrong in so many ways that I thought we’d analyze it:

A Kent man who shot and killed a suspected intruder inside his home Saturday was armed with his own handgun when he walked in the door and found the stranger inside his home, police said.

Who else’s gun would he have? Its pretty hard to ‘take a gun away’ from someone else when you don’t have one yourself.

A man and woman came home to their condo on Kent’s East Hill at 6 p.m. Saturday to find another man inside. The 28-year-old homeowner used his own gun to shoot the suspected intruder, said Kent police spokesman Paul Petersen.

Suspected intruder? He caught the guy robbing his home — there is no suspected about it!

It’s unknown why the homeowner had a handgun, Petersen said.

Why? Its pretty damn obvious why! To protect himself against murders and thieves. Its a good thing he did, isn’t it? Otherwise you might have another unsolved murder to solve.

Police aren’t releasing the homeowners’ names. The dead man, believed in his mid-20s, has not been identified.

Neighbors reported four to five gunshots, but there were no witnesses other than the homeowners, Petersen said.

After the man was shot, he ran through a broken sliding-glass door and died in the backyard. He was carrying a bag that contained some stolen property from the couple’s home, Petersen said.

Nowhere in this article do they call the burglar what he is. They call him a ‘suspected intruder’, and only at the end mention that he was carrying a bag with stolen items. Isn’t that the definition of burgling? I have a problem with the PI ‘reporter’ who wrote this, as well as with the Kent Police spokesman who wonders why the guy had a gun?

Well, the anti-gunner’s no-gun signs did their job — they disarmed the good guys and allowed a scumbag to wreak havoc at will.

Here is what one 1st hand witness to the shooting has to say:

Either way though, I could have drawn and taken a clean shot. However, in both cases, regardless of the laws, I am not allowed to carry a gun at all in Westroads Mall. If the laws did not oppress my rights, I would carry a gun most places (except work). I would certainly have had it in the mall as mall shootings have been on my mind since the incident at a mall involving a shotgun back in February.

Read the full account over at Joe’s Crabby Shack

What do I take away from this incident? That my right to defend myself takes precedence over anyone elses ‘property rights’ when they try to deprive me of the ability to save my own life from criminals bent on killing me and my family. I shall carry when and where I please and you shall be none the wiser — unless I am forced to defend myself.

Anti-gun nuts tout the benefits of having a ‘cooling off period’ after buying a gun, as if everyone who buys a gun is angry, or likely to use it in anger. You have already passed a background check and have skipped buying it from the corner drug and illegal arms dealer, so why impose an extra burden? Hell if I know, non of what they do makes sense to me.

To further illustrate the idiocy of a waiting period we have this story which comes to us from The Smallest Minority. The quick over view is an employer has an irate former employee threaten his and his family’s lives, goes and buys a gun, is subjected to a 3 day waiting period, and on day 2 is attacked in front of his house.

It isn’t clear from the story if any of the attackers were actually connected to the former employee, but it sure would be a strange coincidence if they weren’t.

This story comes from the Philadelphia Daily News, via Clayton Craymer –

BRIAN LEWIS was leaving his apartment, heading to a gig as a disc jockey in January 2005, when three guys jumped him.

Two of them pulled pistols.

The men wanted his gear, including two CD mixers worth $499 each.

They also wanted Lewis to turn around and go back inside his house with them.

What the robbers didn’t know was that Lewis had a gun, and a permit to carry it.

Lewis reached for his gun, telling the robbers he was pulling out the key to his door.

Lewis aimed across his body, drawing a bead on the head of one man aiming a pistol at his back.

Click.

The gun was loaded, but there was no bullet in the chamber.

The two robbers heard the pistol’s dry fire and blasted away, shooting Lewis in the back.

You can read the rest of the story here. But that’s the most important part. If you carry a concealed weapon, always remember that you cannot predict when you will need it. You will neve have the time to ‘rack the slide’ when trouble comes calling. Part of being prepared is being fully prepared, have your weapon ready to use at a moments notice — you may not get another chance. This guy is very lucky to be alive, and I hope he has learned from the experience.

Clayton Cramer is reporting that the DC Court of Appeals has struck down Washington DC’s ban on having a loaded handgun in your home, and has recognized that handguns are protected by the 2nd Amendment!

Its nice to see some sanity in a city overrun by criminals.

Say Uncle, Volokh, Kerr, Cato Institute and Instapundit also have coverage.

According to this TBO.com story Georgia lawmakers are considering changing their no-knock warrant rules. A Bill, SB 259 has been introduced to:

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to searches with warrants, so as to change provisions relating to issuance of search warrants by judicial officers; to provide that no-knock warrants shall not be issued in this state except under limited circumstances; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This change of direction has come about because of a recent tragedy where the homeowner, a 92 year old woman, shot at the invading officers and was killed by them. The warrent was issued on the word of an informant that there were drugs in the house. None were found.

Hat Tip to Say Uncle for this story.

The The Denver Post is reporting that Democrats have blocked legislation that would have allowed business owners the same rights as home owners in defending their property as well as recognition of out of state concealed pistol licenses.

The Senate State Affairs Committee, known unofficially as a graveyard for bills that leadership wants killed, shot down a proposal Monday to expand Colorado’s “make my day” law.

The three Democrats on the five-member committee rejected legislation that would have allowed business owners to shoot threatening intruders, as homeowners are already permitted to do.

The bill’s demise came three days after Senate Democrats thwarted attempts by Republicans to hijack a Democrat-sponsored bill that would tighten restrictions on concealed weapons.

Republicans tried to amend the bill to say Coloradans could use concealed-gun permits from any other state. Instead, the legislation from Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, squeaked through as he originally wrote it – a ban on mail-order and other out-of-state permits for people who want to pack concealed handguns.

As is usual in these cases the Democrats resorted to scare tactics to support their side, saying:

Sen. Peter Groff, a Denver Democrat who chairs the committee, said a shopkeeper could end up shooting a straight-A student in baggy pants “listening to Snoop Doggy Dog” on his iPod just because he looked threatening.

They always trot out the ‘blood will run in the streets’ and ‘wild west’ arguments against pro-gun legislation, but when it finally passes these scenarios never come true. Look at all the states that now have concealed carry? Their crime rates have dropped as a result. But that’s a Democrat for you, they don’t even trust themselves with a gun.

Hat tip to Alphecca

This report comes from Interested-Participant. Another thug has flunked the victim selection process, he and 2 friends attemped an home invasion robbery on an armed citizen and lost.

PONTIAC — A 21-year-old Pontiac man who was shot by an armed homeowner when he allegedly forced his way into a home with two other men last month died early Tuesday from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Herbert McDaniels died in Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Police said McDaniels was named in a criminal warrant as one of three men who forced their way into a house on Cloverlawn Street at about 4 a.m. on Jan. 29.

The 33-year-old homeowner told police he armed himself after hearing a loud noise when the men kicked in a door. The man shouted for the three to leave and when they ignored him and continued advancing into the house, he fired off two shots.

Pay attention all you bad guys! Guns are used more often to defend the good guys than they are in committing a crime. Find a new line of work.

This comes from WMCTV, Memphis:

Syan Rhodes reports:
Jan 12, 2007 08:42 PM

Memphis police are investigating a home invasion that ended in a shooting.

Police say 84-year-old Willie Hancox called 911 around two Friday afternoon to say that he had shot an intruder.

Hancox says he fired two shots, hitting an intruder twice in the head.
Read the rest of this entry »

KVOA Tuscon reports that a man defended his family against 6 armed home invaders:

A South Tucson man took action when six men with guns raided his home. That man says he fired in self-defense when six men stormed into his home.

The home invasion happened Tuesday night just before 11 p.m. at a home on west Valencia Road.

A 23-year-old living inside heard the commotion and shot two of the men.

One died. The other is in critical condition. No one else was hurt.
Read the rest of this entry »