Kudos to The Plain Dealer

Since I mentioned my distaste in a post yesterday for how they covered a self-defense situation, I have to give them a lot of credit for what they've published today. Not one, not two, but three excellent articles about the incident and CCW in general.

The Legal Gun Won This Fight

...Arthur's relatives and friends are upset that the law isn't going after Wells.

They want someone to blame - other than Arthur. But they shouldn't be allowed to bully the police or the city administration into taking action against a guy who was minding his own business on his own porch when suddenly confronted by an armed teenager.

Then there's the conceptual side of the argument - the big-picture side that says citizens shouldn't be allowed to have guns and certainly shouldn't be allowed to walk around with them.

This kind of incident proves knee-jerk gun foes wrong, and they know it.

"This is one of the few where they actually used it [a legally carried concealed weapon] to stop a crime," Toby Hoover of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence grudgingly told a Plain Dealer reporter.

But there are more than a few such cases. There are thousands every year, all over the country.

And where are the statistics on gun crimes committed by holders of concealed-carry permits? Something tells me that if they happened at anything approaching the rate of the hundreds of thousands of crimes perpetrated against unarmed Americans every year, we'd be hearing more about them.

The fact is, the concealed-carry "threat" has turned out to be malarkey, just as it was in the many states that debated such laws long before Ohio...

After I wrote about last week's outrage at Virginia Tech University, I got a series of sneering e-mails from a reader, along the lines of, "Next, you'll be suggesting that teachers should be armed."

I think I'll take him up on that...

How different things might have been at Virginia Tech if Seung-Hui Cho hadn't had the only gun on campus.

No Sympathy for Thug Culture

After the shooting, someone smashed in his front windows. The house looks deserted now, with sheets of plywood nailed over the windows and front door.

Ever since the shooting, people have stopped at the nearby memorial to scrawl messages honoring Buford.

"God gave me a new angel man . . . Why Da Good Die Young . . . I'll see you in eternity . . . You are with the Lord and we happy for that."...

Buford's cousin had grumbled to one reporter about the shooter being allowed to run free...

I can't bring myself to call Buford the victim of a shooting. He was the instigator of one.

His family should be ashamed of his actions and apologize to the man he tried to rob...

If there is any debate here, it shouldn't be about gun control.

It should be about thug control.

Shooting Sparks Neighborhood Anger

Damon Wells and his home appear no longer safe.

The .40-caliber handgun that Wells carries legally for defense may not be enough to protect the 25-year-old man and his home in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

Sunday night, a day after Wells shot and killed a 15-year-old who threatened him with a gun on his porch, Wells' home was under siege. Police sent a car to guard it.

Now the doors on his house are boarded up; the windows, too.

No one appears to be home.

Outside Wells' home Tuesday night, a crowd of about 50 people gathered to mourn Arthur "Ace Boogie" Buford, whom Wells killed during the attempted robbery...

Candlelight vigil tonight for dead teen

That is the title of a little blurb in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer.

You have to actually read the story to see how misleading that euphamistic heading is:

There will be a candlelight vigil tonight for Arthur "A.C." Bufurd, the 15-year-old boy who was shot by Damon Wells, who said the boy tried to rob him on his front porch Saturday night.

Wells said Bufurd and another teen aimed a gun at him. Wells, who has a permit to carry a gun, shot Bufurd several times in the chest. The teen died after stumbling away and collapsing on a sidewalk near East 135th Street and Kinsman Road.

Prosecutors decided Monday that Wells, 25, was justified and would not be charged with a crime...

Hmm... let's see if I have this straight:

A criminal pulls a gun on someone during an armed robbery. The victim is able to defend himself from the deadly threat and uses his legal self-defense tool to save his life and stop the attacker.

Now they're holding a candlelight vigil for the dead attacker? Why isn't the community holding a "Thank goodness the robbery victim survived vigil?" Why aren't they holding a "Thank goodness there's one less person threatening murder on our streets vigil?"

Also,

The vigil will begin at 7 p.m. at the intersection where he died.

The deadly attacker was stopped near the front porch of the robbery victim's house. I wonder how comfortable this poor guy is going to feel with the (again assuming) criminal gangbanger's friends congregating on his sidewalk all night.

Fred Thompson For President

I admit I haven't looked into all of his positions yet because I never thought that he would actually run... but now that he seems like a genuine candidate, I definitely like what I see so far.

Watch out Huckabee, The Musings of Milkey may be changing its endorsement. No waffling... No political obfuscation... You have to admire that.

Signs of Intelligence?
by Fred Thompson

One of the things that's got to be going through a lot of peoples' minds now is how one man with two handguns, that he had to reload time and time again, could go from classroom to classroom on the Virginia Tech campus without being stopped. Much of the answer can be found in policies put in place by the university itself...

The statistics are clear. Communities that recognize and grant Second Amendment rights to responsible adults have a significantly lower incidence of violent crime than those that do not. More to the point, incarcerated criminals tell criminologists that they consider local gun laws when they decide what sort of crime they will commit, and where they will do so...

In recent years, however, armed Americans — not on-duty police officers — have successfully prevented a number of attempted mass murders. Evidence from Israel, where many teachers have weapons and have stopped serious terror attacks, has been documented. Supporting, though contrary, evidence from Great Britain, where strict gun controls have led to violent crime rates far higher than ours, is also common knowledge.

So Virginians asked their legislators to change the university's "concealed carry" policy to exempt people 21 years of age or older who have passed background checks and taken training classes. The university, however, lobbied against that bill, and a top administrator subsequently praised the legislature for blocking the measure.

The logic behind this attitude baffles me, but I suspect it has to do with a basic difference in worldviews. Some people think that power should exist only at the top, and everybody else should rely on "the authorities" for protection.

Despite such attitudes, average Americans have always made up the front line against crime. Through programs like Neighborhood Watch and Amber Alert, we are stopping and catching criminals daily. Normal people tackled "shoe bomber" Richard Reid as he was trying to blow up an airliner. It was a truck driver who found the D.C. snipers. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that civilians use firearms to prevent at least a half million crimes annually...

Whenever I've seen one of those "Gun-free Zone" signs, especially outside of a school filled with our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, I've always wondered exactly who these signs are directed at. Obviously, they don't mean much to the sort of man who murdered 32 people just a few days ago.

2007 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits Review

Note: I was going to spare you guys the boring (to some) full report I put on the Ohioans For Concealed Carry website last Sunday (April 15), just throw up some pics, and spend most of the time talking about the freaking awesome Budweiser event... but I don't feel like writing up something new. So here's how I spent April 12-15.

OFCC President Jeff Garvas and I were fortunate enough to attend the 136th NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits this past weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. Joanna, my beautiful and gun-loving wife, also joined me. How lucky can one guy be? While extremely tiring, we were able to attend informative and inspirational seminars, meet personally with key NRA staff to discuss pertinent Ohio issues, and walk in complete awe through acres of firearm exhibits and vendor booths that made up the largest convention of any kind that St. Louis has ever hosted. This was my first NRA Convention and I can tell you that it certainly won't be my last! I urge any freedom-loving American that has not yet attended this wonderful event to do so at their earliest convenience. Luckily for Ohioans, the 2008 Convention will be held on May 16-18 in nearby Louisville, Kentucky. All NRA members and their immediate family are not charged general admission.

Before I continue with a more detailed recap of the weekend's activities, I do need to fulfill a promise...

Jeff and I were lucky enough to share a few minutes with NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre at Saturday night's Annual Members' Banquet. We were able talk with Mr. LaPierre about OFCC's recent win in the appeal against Clyde, OH. As soon as I handed him my business card and mentioned that we represented OFCC, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "Ohioans For Concealed Carry? You guys have been doing great work in Ohio. We're very proud. Make sure to tell your members how much we appreciate all that they do for the Second Amendment. We're all in this together." Needless to say, each and every one of you should feel very proud of your individual efforts that have yielded our recent successes in Ohio. Wayne LaPierre, the NRA, and OFCC sincerely thank you!



Now, on to what I hope can be a full report to our loyal members and supporters...

Joanna and I arrived in St. Louis Thursday afternoon so we could get the sight-seeing out of the way early and devote all of our energy to the upcoming Convention. The first thing I noticed in exploring the beautiful city was the overwhelming support that St. Louis provided to the NRA and the nearly 70,000 participants that booked hotel rooms, ate in local restaurants, and shopped in local stores. Every storefront window had a sign welcoming the NRA and residents were extremely friendly. However, as expected, there were a few anti-gun zealots interviewed on local news programs giving illogical statements like "St. Louis has fought hard to keep guns off our streets and now the NRA is flooding the convention center with Assault Weapons." Well, I'm here to tell you that I spent almost every waking moment of this weekend in that convention center and I did not hear of one incident involving display firearms causing havoc, even if some did happen to have evil cosmetic accessories like a pistol grip or adjustable buttstock.

Friday morning began with the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA)'s Grassroots Seminar. This event gathered hundreds of dedicated activists from all over the country to learn how to be a more effective grassroots activist. There were specific tasks outlined that the NRA-ILA asked us to pass on to other like-minded individuals.

--Election Volunteer Coordinators (EVC): Do you ever wonder how you can help more in times of election? Hopefully you are aware of the efforts organized locally by Ohioans For Concealed Carry. All Second Amendment advocates should also contact the NRA and get in touch with their EVCs to learn how to help pro-gun candidates. A few hours of your time can make the difference in a close campaign. Some activities include voter registration drives, yard sign distribution, and door-knocking. You can use this interactive map to contact your local EVC or volunteer to become one yourself.

--Frontline Volunteers: Local EVCs rely on active people that donate their time and energy as Frontline Volunteers. To get directly in the political fight for firearm freedom, visit this page to specify which activities are most suited to your talents. I am happy to report that the Grassroots Seminar yielded several hundred people gratiously choosing to become Frontline Volunteers. This segment of the program forced me to realize that with people like Hillary Clinton campaigning every day on platforms that will take away our freedoms, we can not wait until 2008 to get in the game.

--Second Amendment Activist Centers: NRA-ILA is setting up partnerships all across the country with businesses that choose to become official Activist Centers. This mutually beneficial relationship is really rather simple. Businesses distribute NRA-ILA materials to customers and receive priceless publicity in NRA correspondence with local residents. Firearm and sports stores are prefered for this program, but it's certainly not a requirement. Please visit this page if you can recommend a good candidate to become a Second Amendment Activist Center.

--Contacting Lawmakers: The Grassroots Seminar provided a wealth of information regarding the best way to contact your legislators and public representatives. While it's important to regularly speak with federal and state officials, we must also be diligent in local affairs. Obviously, the most effective method of communication is:

----Personal Visits: Contact your representative ahead of time, inform them that you are a constituent, and attempt to make an appointment. If you are unable to speak directly with your rep, then be sure to request a meeting with someone that handles firearm issues specifically. Dress professionally, be polite, and (even though they work for you) make them aware that you appreciate their time. Always ask for any statement they make to be provided in writing so that you can remind them of their promise/stance at a later date. Follow up with a thank you letter.

----Handwritten Letters: When personal visits are not possible, written correspondence is the next best thing. Be sure to reference the bill number or specific issue, stick to one topic per letter, and request a written reply with their official position.

----Phone Calls: While not as effective as the above methods, we should still be making regular phone calls to our representatives. Why? Because they are easy. If you can not speak directly with your official, ask to speak with the Chief of Staff or an aide that works directly with firearm issues. Reference the specific bill number and request a written reply.

----Emails: At the bottom of the totem pole are emails. However, like phone calls, they are easy and can be done quickly. Follow the same general guidelines noted above.

One important thing that I learned throughout these presentations is that NRA-ILA asks that you forward any written correspondence stating a representative's position to them. I was not aware that they keep diligent records regarding what a public official says to their constituents. Having proof come through each of us makes their records much more valuable. Another small suggestion that wasn't mentioned that I always try to implement is to politely inform the official how you plan to share this information with others. Simply saying that you look forward to informing members of OFCC, gun clubs, community organizations, work, or just your poker buddies could have a positive influence on the encounter.

Executive Director Wayne LaPierre, President Sandra Froman, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox, and other NRA officials periodically addressed the Grassroots Seminar with motivational words informing us about dangerous legislation currently in Congress like the H.R. 1022 "Assault Weapon" Ban and numerous attempts to close the non-existent "Gun Show Loophole". They also gave updates on progress of pro-gun legislation like the DC Personal Protection Act, the BATFE Modernization Act, and National Right To Carry bills. Please make sure to contact your U.S. legislators in opposition to and support of these respective bills.

After a quick bite to eat, we were off to attend the official Opening Ceremonies for the weekend. This was a spectacular event that included key speeches, musical entertainment by Ty England, and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt making NRA history by signing Missouri's version of Katrina Legislation into law during the ceremony. As you may know, this law will prohibit the confiscation of firearms from law-abiding citizens during times of national emergency that tragically occured in the wake of Hurrican Katrina. The citizens of Missouri will never have to undergo the forceful confiscation of self-defense tools that took place in New Orleans.



We were forced to alter our Saturday schedule a bit, but it was for a superb reason! We were able to sit down with key NRA legal representatives to discuss the incredible news of OFCC's successful appeal against the city of Clyde's illegal ban of firearms in their city parks. These morning meetings turned into a whirlwind of activity that allowed us to meet with other members of NRA leadership, appear live on NRA News' flagship program Cam & Company, and discuss the impact of this monumental litigation with the esteemed Director of Research Dave Kopel of The Independence Institute, one of our country's leading non-partisan free market think tanks.





We had to physically break ourselves away from celebrating the Clyde decision and skipped lunch in order to hurry to an inaugural panel session entitled "In Their Own Words". Where Friday morning's Grassroots Seminar provided an opportunity for NRA staff to speak to us about activism, this event allowed individual grassroots volunteers from around the country to talk about their pursuits and answer questions from fellow NRA members.

After the "In Their Own Words" presentations, Joanna and I stopped by for a quick opportunity to meet world class exhibition shooter Tom Knapp before heading to the hotel in preparation for the evening's main festivities, the Annual Members' Banquet.

We arrived at the banquet's preliminary reception and was lucky enough to meet with other OFCC members that made the trip to St. Louis. After sharing a few stories, it was time to find our tables and got to meet even more fine folks from Ohio! We all settled in for a delicious meal, entertainment from comedian T. Bubba Bechtol, and the keynote address from former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton. Ambassador Bolton spoke of the hard work that he has performed on our behalf in keeping international anti-gun forces away from the freedoms upon which America is founded.

At the conclusion of the Members' Banquet, one thousand lucky guests were bussed to the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser brewing facilities for an exclusive event that featured entertainment, free food, and free specimens of Budweiser's finest products. I won't mention at this time who was better at the interactive video trap shooting tent in the late hours of Saturday night, but let's just say that there's a reason why the President and Founder of OFCC didn't form a non-profit clay sports organization.

Sunday morning came much too quickly after only a few hours of sleep and brought a sad reminder that we were leaving 70,000 like-minded individuals that are steadfast in the defense of our innate right to keep and bear arms. We weren't looking forward to rejoining Ohio's freezing spring temperatures.

I hope that this brief account of my experience at the 136th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits will convince you to attend next year's event in Louisville. Hopefully, the NRA will soon fulfill their promise and bring it back to Ohio now that we have defeated Columbus' Assault Weapon Ban! There truly is nothing like this event held by our nation's most effective firearm rights defense organization.

"No Guns" Policy Ignored by Virginia Tech Shooter

Today is truly a sad day due to the tragedy that took place earlier at Virginia Tech. At this time, police are estimating that over twenty people have been killed and nearly the same number wounded from the actions of one crazed lunatic.

While the nation mourns this immense loss of innocent life, we must realize that two ways exist for looking at these terrible events. The manner that we choose will dictate how to best move forward. I wonder which will prevail:

Option 1: Cries of "We do not have enough gun control!" Obviously, this deranged psycho doesn't have enough laws telling him it is illegal to kill people at Virginia Tech. We need to quickly pass legislation banning guns and voiding concealed handgun licenses. We can finally stop these senseless shootings by creating some rules that these demented people will follow! We'll tell them they can't own rifles with a certain shaped stock or handguns that hold an arbitrary amount of ammunition. That will provide the missing piece of the puzzle picture that already includes 30,000 gun laws ranging from prohibition of any gun on a college campus in Virginia to, of course, murder. Just one more gun control law will turn everything into a Utopia where criminals and the mentally insane alike seek and succeed in productive professions.

If you follow the gun rights movement in America, you are probably well aware of the skyrocketing crime rates in Englad that they have enjoyed since banning nearly all firearms. You see, "gun violence" is up nearly 40% since those actions were taken. Perhaps the UK is just an isolated example. Maybe we need to keep our college campuses safe by following the lead of another nation, Australia. The Aussies have also said that gun control is the answer to criminal intent and have banned every semi-auto and pump-action firearm in the country.

How are they faring? Unfortunately, a study found on this page of the official website of the Australian Institute of Criminology (basically their FBI) says gun bans have had the opposite effect and made their streets less safe. The New Zealand Herald says about that study:

CANBERRA - The introduction of tough laws to control guns and knives appears to be failing to keep lethal weapons out of the hands of Australian criminals. …. reported that while new laws may have helped reduce the number of knives and guns in illicit circulation, they have failed to deter hard-core criminals. It also pointed to a large firearms black market.

Almost two-thirds had been bought illegally from friends, family or on the street, with an even higher proportion, 66 per cent, of knives coming from illicit sources. And many carried their weapons regularly despite tough laws against possession in public places. Almost one-third of knife-owning prisoners regularly went out on the streets with their weapons tucked into pockets, boots, clothing or bags, while 14 per cent of gun owners said they carried their firearms with them. The study said that drug users were more likely to use these weapons.

"The illicit trade in firearms is a challenge for law enforcement because some individuals appear undeterred by the penalties associated with their illegal trade and ownership."

I'm shocked..... SHOCKED.... to learn that criminals continue to break the law.

How about this graphic from the same Australian Institute ofCriminology which shows the trend in the number of assaults that were charged between 1995-2003? They've nearly doubled despite the new laws that were supposed to eradicate violent attacks.



These telling facts neatly summarize the argument for more gun control. It appears to me that this course of action may not be best once we allow ourselves to use trifling devices like logic, common sense, and historical facts from other countries that have tried the route of increased gun control and only made conditions worse.

Is there an alternative? How about telling our elected officials to stop tilting at windmills and attempt to do something that may provide a chance of saving lives? Perhaps we could try:


2) Stop putting roadblocks in the way of law-abiding citizens that merely desire the means to defend themselves. This suggestion recognizes the fact that criminals, by definition, break the law. They prefer legislation that disarms the good guys. We know this. Gun control makes their task of robbing, raping, and murdering people in college dormitories that much easier. When is the last time you heard of a psycho deciding to shoot up a police station? How about a gun shop? Gun show? NRA Convention? Why not? Instead, when I ask you to think of places where these mass slaughters occur, what pops into your head? Schools?... Post Offices?... Churches?... What do these places have in common? Simple: The law makes it very difficult to carry defensive tools there. Coincidence? Perhaps not. Predators prey on the weak. They don't seek out difficult targets.

Now, I'm not saying that lifting many of the 30,000 existing gun laws will eliminate crime. Unfortunately, I think that there will always be bad people in the world.

However, lifting those prohibitions would give honest people a chance to defend themselves rather than simply being fish in a barrel. That's what the Virginia Tech victims were to this psycho: easy targets. If people were able to legally carry defensive firearms there, a chance would exist that someone could have minimized these terrible results. Let us remember the somewhat recent Utah Mall Shooting that we've discussed and a 1999 incident where Vice Principal Joel Myrick stopped a 1999 school shooting in Pearl, Mississippi after taking several minutes to run all the way to the parking lot, unlock his truck, unlock a gun case, retrieve ammunition, load his gun, run back into the school, and confront the shooter. How many more people would have been slaughtered if not for the brave actions of these two men? How many children were killed while Vice Principal Myrick retrieved his self-defense tools that he wasn't permitted to keep with him?

But wait... you should know that the Virginia Legislature has already tried to allow people to defend themselves on college campuses as recently as January of 2006:

Gun bill gets shot down by panel
HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college campuses, died in subcommittee.

By Greg Esposito
381-1675

A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly.

House Bill 1572 didn't get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.

...

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

...

Thank you, Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker. I'm sure people felt safer. But were they?

I recall seeing legitimate news sources and comedy programs alike sniping at Wisconsin State Representative Frank Lasee's attempt to enact legislation allowing trained professionals to carry defensive firearms in his state's schools after the Pennsylvania Amish School tragedy that took place a few months ago. His logical suggestion that actually attempted to do something was only met with criticism and mockery.

Hopefully, our society can start to wake up and seek real answers rather than continuing in our current downward spiral of feel-good, do-nothing legislation.

Milwaukee = Algonquin word Millioke = "The Good Land"

You're so right, Alice Cooper.

Everybody who knows me (and many that don't) have heard of my frustrating quest to somehow watch the Tribe while living in Dayton that ended with me contacting state legislators and obtaining the personal number of Indians VP Bob Dibiasio. Please... Extra Innings... I'm trying to give you $150.

Anyway, last night I went to my local Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck to watch the excellent contest between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and our beloved Cleveland Indians of Milwaukee.

Two things:

1) Slider looked absolutely beautiful going down that slide. Grace... Presence... What a majestic creature. I no longer think he's one of the worst mascots in baseball. Thank you for that, Miller Park. Unfortunately, the Indians front office must not have been able to persuade the pussies that head the Brewer organization and allow him to land in a mug of beer. I blame Bud Selig.

2) On behalf of all Fans of the Feathered, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. John Adams who continued his streak of attending every home game... even those not played at home! I don't think I'd be nearly the fan that I am if it weren't for this perpetual icon. At least Joanna has finally resigned herself to me slapping her on the leg with "WHOMP whomp whomp whomp WHOMP whomp whomp whomp..." while we have men in scoring position and the opposing hurler is getting set.

I attended a quickly scheduled makeup game a few years ago that took place on a Tuesday afternoon. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was wrong during the first few innings. Then it hit me. No John Adams! He must've shown up sometime in the third inning, as his spiritual drumming helped us go on to beat the Orioles that afternoon. I imagine he got held up after putting in a half day at the super secret spy organization or high-class male escort service where he works.

I Don't Know Who I Like More

OR

(By the way, check out this particular post of an interesting blog.)

Crack-ing Down on Crime

Dude looked like a lady

Firefighter arrested in bikini, blond wig in Heritage Oak Park

BY JENNIFER BAKER

MASON - A Wayne Township volunteer firefighter is scheduled to appear today in Mason Municipal Court on drunken driving and other charges after he was found wearing a woman's blond wig and bikini in a public park.

Steven S. Cole, 46, Waynesville, was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage Oak Park off U.S. 42 after Mason police received a report of an intoxicated man. Cole was charged with drunken driving, having an open container, public indecency and disorderly conduct.

He did not respond to telephone calls Wednesday for comment.

Cole was arrested after a Mason father enjoying the balmy spring weather at the park spotted him and called police.

"It was like this freak show," said Troy Harphant, 35. "I was a little taken by surprise by what I'd seen there. It was out of place with what should have been going on over there, that's for sure."

Harphant was at the park with his wife, Wendy, as they watched their daughter, Hayley, 6, zip around on a bike path on her pink Barbie Princess scooter.

At least 100 other adults and children also were at the park, Harphant said.

...

"My wife said, 'It's a lady,' and I was like, 'No, it's not a lady,' " he said.

Harphant then followed the truck as it drove around the park - including by the children's playground - and called police on his cell phone.

"There's a man out here dressed up in a wig and women's two-piece bikini freaking people out in the park," he told a 911 dispatcher.

"It's inappropriate and I'd like somebody to come check this guy out. The guy is actually trying to leave the park now."

Mason Police Officer Scott Miller pulled the truck over. His report states:

"I observed Cole to be wearing a very skimpy woman's ... bikini with two tan water balloons taped to the top to simulate two woman's breasts and a pair of pink Speedo flip-flop sandals."

Cole was unsteady and twice fell against the truck, Miller reported. Cole also fumbled through his wallet and handed him a debit card and a Lowe's credit card when asked for his driver's license.

The officer looked through the wallet but could not find his driver's license, although Cole did provide a Social Security number.

"I asked Cole what he was doing wearing a woman's bikini at the park where families frequent," Miller wrote. "Cole did state he was headed to a 'gay bar' in Dayton to perform as a woman for a $10,000 prize."

Miller reported smelling alcohol on Cole, who also had slurred speech. Police said they found an open, half-empty 40-ounce bottle of Budweiser in Cole's truck. They also found a black gym bag with more blond wigs, women's bikinis, long silver go-go boots and other women's garments.

Cole's blood-alcohol test registered 0.174, more than twice Ohio's legal limit of 0.08.

Are You a Rifleman or a Cook?

This was originally published on the Ohioans For Concealed Carry website, HERE. Maybe you'd like to see how I spent last weekend...


In the closing days of 2006, I penned a short article listing a few of my New Year Resolutions. As you may have seen, I only mentioned those that pertained to defending our Second Amendment rights and kept the obligatory weight loss goal to myself for plausible deniability.

In reviewing that list, I realize that some efforts are progressing further than others. One in particular that I had been neglecting until recently was number four on that list:

Become a Rifleman. I have informally plinked my entire life but have never had any training with a rifle. This year, I want to compliment my handgun skills with some long arm abilities. There is nothing wrong with having a few more self-defense tools available if the need for them should ever arise.

To begin my journey, I read as much as I could, both online and in print, to try and learn the basics of rifle marksmanship. My spoiled, lazy rear convinced me that would be sufficient during the first cold months of an Ohio winter and I was on my way.

I could not have been more wrong.

That complacent attitude was officially banished this past weekend when I attended an Appleseed Shoot sponsored by the fine folks at the Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA). Before I tell you about the training itself, I would like to recount my experience so that you can learn how I went from having fired twenty rounds of centerfire rifle ammunition in my life to consistently hitting (simulated) 400 yard targets with iron sights and a .30-caliber long arm after only two days of Appleseed instruction.

When I began my research, I kept running across one name: Fred. You may have read a few of Fred’s articles in Shotgun News. You may have stumbled upon his renowned site for everything M1A/M14, Fred’s M14 Stocks. Maybe you’ve read high praise for him in "Boston’s Gun Bible". Anyway, it seemed almost universally agreed that this was a man who knew how to use a long gun and how to teach others to do the same.

I ordered a copy of “Fred’s Guide to Becoming a Rifleman” and read it cover to cover as soon as it arrived. The explanation of the basic mechanics of rifle marksmanship was exactly what I had been seeking. Fred’s Guide provides everything a beginning rifleman needs in a matter-of-fact manner that allowed me to get started on the right foot. With that introduction, I knew how to aim my rifle, how to get into the various shooting positions, and how to use a sling. Time for some action, right?!

I fought that urge to head straight to the range and instead diligently practiced getting my body used to the correct prone and sitting positions in my basement and dry-firing “by the numbers”. Fred’s Guide describes the six steps to firing an accurate shot. They are as follows:

1. Sight Alignment: Aligning the front and rear sights.
   
2. Sight Picture: Bringing the aligned sights onto your target.
   
3. Respiratory Pause: Your natural breathing raises and lowers your rifle. When you achieve a perfect Sight Picture while exhaling, hold your breath to remain on target.
   
4. Focus
   1. Focus your Eyes on the Front Sight: Just like in most handgun training you’ve likely encountered, your whole world is that front sight.
      
   2. Focus your Mind on the Target: While your eyes are focused on the front sight, you must focus your mind on keeping the front sight on your target.
      
5. Trigger Pull: Notice that the phrase isn’t “Trigger Jerk”. (Another important point that gives me fits is to make sure that the rest of your trigger finger does not touch the stock while on the trigger.)
   
6. Follow Through: There are two important facets to Following Through. First, you want to take a mental snapshot of where your sights were when the shot was fired so that you can have instant feedback and can call your shot to know where it impacted the target. Second, you want to hold the trigger back for a moment and then release it slowly to prepare for the next shot. You may have heard this described as “trigger reset”.

In order to gain a true understanding of these techniques and everything else that a rifleman needs, I urge you to purchase a copy of Fred’s Guide for yourself and not rely on my meager summary above.

After a few days, my body stopped protesting the various positions and they actually became comfortable... just as Fred promised they would. I was able to dry fire without flinching and “call my shot”.

Next thing I knew, it was time to attend my first Appleseed Shoot. The program is named after the legendary efforts of one man in the early 1800’s that traveled the Northwest Territory planting apple orchards along the Ohio river. His name was Jonathan Chapman, otherwise known throughout history as Johnny Appleseed. The RWVA uses his example as inspiration to help accomplish something even more important - passing on our American tradition of rifle marksmanship.

Since I had no idea what to expect from this past weekend’s activities, I am unable to accurately put in words how extremely impressed I was with this family friendly event. Skilled volunteer instructors (most traveling from as far away as North Carolina) taught the young, the old, and yours truly to put into practice the basics of rifle marksmanship. It was only through their instruction that the words I read in Fred’s Guide finally “clicked” and I realized what I had to do if I wanted to become an accurate shot.



We began by sighting in our rifles and quickly moved on to specific lessons that culminated with practice on the firing line that gauged the group’s improvement. We practiced with various drills, including the Army Qualification Test (AQT) which dictates a specific course of fire to test the techniques and positions we had been taught. We learned proper sight adjustments that need to be made in the field and just what the heck Minute of Angle (MOA) actually means. We also used “ball and dummy” drills throughout the weekend that allowed a shooter to easily pinpoint various mistakes he/she was making. This occured through the random loading or unloading of a rifle and having the shooter fire the shot as normal. When the rifle dry-fired, it was easy to see if the shooter was flinching.

The instructors periodically broke up each day’s training exercises by giving us a rest while they imparted a bit of our nation’s history. Specifically, they discussed the preliminary defeat that turned to triumph at the beginning of our American Revolution on April 19, 1775. For those that are as interested in history as I am, you must read “Paul Revere’s Ride” by David Hackett Fischer. It is simply one of the best accounts available describing the initial skirmishes at Lexington and Concord while accurately detailing Revere's famed midnight ride that has transformed over the years into more myth than fact.

Thanks to group and one-on-one instruction, I was able to leave the two-day Appleseed Shoot achieving accuracy that I never thought possible given my lack of experience.

If you are interested in learning to accurately shoot a rifle offhand, sitting, kneeling, and prone, you owe it to yourself to look into RWVA and attend an Appleseed Shoot near you. Bring a friend! Bring the family! I have attended several handgun training courses and can honestly say that I have never had a more enjoyable time on the firing line. I arrived barely able to keep ten rounds on paper at 50 yards and left feeling confident that I could quickly get into a steady prone position and hit a target at 400 yards. (Notice I didn't mention anything about confidently shooting from the sitting position. I'll keep working on that one.)

Fred and the RWVA like to say that there are two types of gun owners out there: Riflemen and Cooks. I’m certainly not up to Rifleman standards yet, but thanks to the great instructors at RWVA that generously donate their time to further our American tradition of rifle marksmanship, I have the chance to some day get out of the kitchen!

Both "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Boston's Gun Bible" are conveniently available through the OFCC Bookstore.

Handgun License Demand Skyrockets after Mall Shooting

You may recall a previous post that discussed how a law-abiding citizen and his concealed handgun minimized the damage from a crazed Muslim terrorist in a Utah Mall and stopped him from killing even more innocent people.

As an interesting (and logical) follow-up, the demand for Utah Concealed Handgun Licenses has more than doubled after that tragic event.

Concealed-gun demand skyrockets after shootings

Utah's Bureau of Criminal Identification, already overwhelmed by an upward swing in concealed weapon permit applications, is seeing a further wave in demand following the Trolley Square tragedy in February.

BCI Chief Ed McConkie says that after a lag of about two weeks - about the time it takes to attend firearms safety classes and get fingerprinted and photographed - the applications started to pour in for the required criminal background checks.

"It almost doubled after the Trolley Square shootings for a couple of weeks," McConkie says. "We are getting 400 to 500 a day. Before, it was 200-270."

...

This happened after every natural disaster like Katrina... This happened after 9/11 on a national scale... and it's happening again in Utah. This leads to two thoughts I always have:

1) "Good, more people want to protect themselves and their families. It will make it that much harder for another mall massacre to occur in the future."

2) "It's unfortunate that it takes a tragedy for people to realize only they can defend themselves." For example, groups/trainers across the country (and not just specifically for firearms) come into contact with only a small percentage of women that proactively seek self-defense training. Unfortunately, most women survive some type of attack before looking for classes or self-defense tools.

You know what might contribute to this sad fact?

Idiots like this law enforcement officer that was quoted at the end of that article:

If an increased number of Utah citizens are taking comfort in concealed handguns, some police officers are not. Besides the difficulty of differentiating between a well-meaning citizen with a weapon and a criminal with one, Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Jeff Nigbur says officers are trained to respond in life-or-death situations.

"An officer receives a lot of training," Nigbur says. For instance, "Before moving out with guns blazing to help out the situation, an officer is going to take in to account the backdrop - who is behind that drywall that I'm going to put five rounds through? Will a regular citizen consider that? I know an officer does."

Gee, I guess Sgt. Nigbur would prefer that those survivors of the Utah mall massacre (and millions of other citizens that defend themselves every year) were dead.

Good man.

First Hitter = Entire Season

At least that's what Harry Doyle tells me.

Yep, I just watched Grady assure us our rings.

Enough said.

EDIT TO ADD: IS ANYONE GOING TO GET OUT?!