Category Archives: Guns and Survival
The Hazards of an Overzealous Police Presence
Hazards, moral and other
by Mike
Herschel tells our militarized “police” personnel a thing or two about a thing or two.
Hey moron. When there is a child around, get your hand off of your damn weapon. I don’t care about your trigger discipline. When you unholster your weapon I don’t know what you will do. I have a child in my arms. Moron. Learn to use your brain.
There are many, many more such examples, and I’m not sure what the SWAT officer was talking about when he discussed the jubilation America displayed when Boston was locked down like a prison, but around these parts we were livid. We don’t want you. We don’t need you. We don’t see you in heroic terms. We think you’re dangerous and a hazard to the peaceable among us.
Finally, you have no moral right to unholster your weapon and point it at me, my family or my beasts. You don’t have a moral right to forcibly enter my home, and you don’t have a moral right to endanger me, my family or my beasts because you want to “go home at the end of the day.”
Oh, and by the way. I think your reflexive shooting of dogs during your stupid SWAT raids is cowardly and ham-handed (it happens all over America every day). If a dog comes after you when you force your way into a home, maybe you shouldn’t have been in that home in the first place. And most of the time if you can’t handle dogs without reverting to shooting them I think you’re a pussy.
All just part and parcel of keeping a population cowed, ignorant, and suppressed.
From COld Fury: http://coldfury.com/
Guns Don’t Kill People But Obamacare Will
From 90 miles: http://ninetymilesfromtyranny.blogspot.com/
What Really Kills People? It is not Guns.
From Mad Medic: http://maddmedic.wordpress.com/
Don’t Mess With a Woman with a Gun
From Angry Mikes Hood: http://angrymikeshood.blogspot.com/
Gabby – STFU.
Gabby Giffords Jumps the Shark With Pathetic Gun-Grabbing Op-Ed in the New York Times
SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived the massacre must feel every time they remember their teachers stacking them into closets and bathrooms, whispering that they loved them, so that love would be the last thing the students heard if the gunman found them.
On Wednesday, a minority of senators gave into fear and blocked common-sense legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to get hold of deadly firearms — a bill that could prevent future tragedies like those in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., and too many communities to count.
Some of the senators who voted against the background-check amendments have met with grieving parents whose children were murdered at Sandy Hook, in Newtown. Some of the senators who voted no have also looked into my eyes as I talked about my experience being shot in the head at point-blank range in suburban Tucson two years ago, and expressed sympathy for the 18 other people shot besides me, 6 of whom died. These senators have heard from their constituents — who polls show overwhelmingly favored expanding background checks. And still these senators decided to do nothing. Shame on them.
No. Shame on you, Gabby Giffords.
It’s hard to take seriously a former Member of Congress who campaigned for reelection on a Second Amendment platform who now criticizes senators who have made political decisions in tune with the policy preferences of their constituents. If the senators have done the wrong thing in voting against this ridiculous legislation they’ll certainly pay for it at reelection time. And in time you too shall be repudiated in contest of public opinion, for your despicable political hypocrisy and your reprehensible exploitation of your injuries —- and the deaths of children — to punish law-abiding gun owners who’ve had nothing to do with the killing of the innocents.
More at Memeorandum.
O’Hellno and the Commie Congress Want to Turn 95% of U.S. Citizens into Criminals Because of Gun Ownership
Market Ticker: Go To Hell Harry Reid and Dianne Feinswine:
This bill goes far further and effectively bans lawful gun retailing!
I wondered why they were talking about “Straw Purchasers” in their news releases when straw purchasing is already illegal and exposes the person who does so to severe criminal penalties.
The reason is that now they intend to steal all property involved in the straw purchase even for an unaware participant — such as a gun store where a straw purchase takes place!
‘(a)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of section 932 or 933 shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law–
‘(A) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation; and
‘(B) any of the person’s property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, such violation.Note the language. Not only will this be construed to steal the house, vehicle and other property of both the straw purchaser and the ultimate recipient as-written it can and probably will also be construed to attack a retailer who has an employee that is involved in such a transaction.
If you didn’t understand Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell’s filibuster intent (along with others) you should now understand it quite-clearly. Not only is there an attempt to define the victims of a crime as federal felons in this piece of blatantly unconstitutional trash but in addition there is a thinly-veiled attack upon lawful firearms retailers in the form of forfeiture provisions that can be (and presumably will be) easily abused to seize property upon the flimsiest of pretext.
From Nice Deb:
I’ll Take These Folks Over Politicians Any Day
From Mad Medic: http://maddmedic.wordpress.com/
Kahr Firearms Supports Gun Rights…
Editors Note: Kahr is my daily carry weapon. ZTW
Kahr Firearms Group Takes Action to Support Gun Rights
by Outdoor Hub on April 8, 2013
submitted by: Gallup Media Marketing
In an effort to address the many political challenges the firearm industry has been dealt the past few months, Justin Moon, on behalf of the Kahr Firearms Group, has stepped forwarded to make generous donations in support of three critically important groups – The NRA Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund, NRA Freedom Action Foundation and the NSSF PAC.
In a statement from Frank Harris, VP, Sales and Marketing, Kahr Firearms Group, Harris stated, “Our CEO and Founder, Justin Moon, feels strongly that educating society and voters regarding the history and background of the Second Amendment is crucial to the survival of our nation as a constitutional republic. Current events, which brought on the onset of many restrictive new gun laws, do not provide a safer society, but rather they only infringe on the rights of responsible gun owners and violate the principles established by our Founding Fathers. The NRA and the NSSF are leading the charge in this fight for our freedoms and Kahr Firearms Group is honored to be able to support them.”
The NRA Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund (CRDF), in support of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association’s (NYSRPA) has a pending lawsuit challenging the Cuomo Gun Ban. Kahr Arms joins other New York based firearm companies in this fight.
The NRA Freedom Action Foundation leads the charge to educate and register a new generation of voters who support Second Amendment freedoms and our hunting heritage.
The NSSF PAC is a non-partisan, multi-candidate; Federal Election Commission registered political action committee of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The NSSF PAC supports pro-industry, pro-Second Amendment and pro-sportsmen candidates seeking election or re-election to Federal office.
Found at Mad Medic: http://maddmedic.wordpress.com/
Obama and His Regime of Traitors are Going After Our Veterans to Strip Their 2nd Amendment Rights
Veteran’s Guns Confiscated After Forced ‘Psychiatric Evaluation’
Veteran’s Guns Confiscated After Forced ‘Psychiatric Evaluation’ – LiveLeak
A US Navy veteran had his guns confiscated by police following a forced “psychiatric evaluation” in another example of how the Veterans Administration is accelerating a purge of armed ex-servicemembers in accordance with a federal government demonization campaign that has labeled vets domestic terrorists.
.
……….
50-year-old David A Schmecker is an honorably discharged disabled US Navy veteran from Connecticut with no criminal record and no psychiatric history. On February 5, Schmecker’s hospital primary care doctor called and heard a message on Schmecker’s answer machine that “sounded peculiar,” prompting him to contact the local police and urge them to visit Schmecker to perform a “wellness check”.
“The police came to my home, and, without any justification whatsoever, hauled me away for a psychiatric evaluation at a local hospital. I submitted to their forceful insistence under duress and fear of arrest or worse. I wasn’t arrested, no crime was committed nor any threats were made to myself or others,” Schmecker told Survive and Thrive’s George Hemminger.
“They confiscated my guns and pistol permit. I was released two days later from the evaluation on my on recognizance. I have since attempted to use the courts and attorneys to fight the revocation of my pistol permit. Then on top of everything else, the bills from the short stay at the hospital and EMS bills that they billed me, along with what I had to pay the attorney adds up to a large amount of money,” he adds.
Schmecker warns that the harassment he suffered is part of “a campaign orchestrated to disarm law abiding citizens,” adding that he is “concerned about where this country is headed.”
As with all contemporary authoritarian governments, the psychiatric system is being used to circumvent courts and bypass normal legal due process.
In August 2012, we reported on how a veteran in Ohio had his guns taken because he was adjudged to be mentally incompetent, despite the fact that his previous VA psychiatric evaluations were all clear, he was not on medication, and he had no criminal record.
As we reported last year, David Sarti, one of the stars of National Geographic’s Doomsday Preppers show, visited his doctor complaining of chest pains, only to have the doctor later commit him to a psychiatric ward and alert authorities, before Sarti was declared “mentally defective” and put on an FBI list that strips him of his second amendment rights.
Veterans are increasingly being targeted by authorities as part of a broader move to demonize them as domestic extremists and even potential terrorists.
The FBI has repeatedly characterized returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan as a major domestic terrorist threat. In addition, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano said she stood by an April 2009 DHS intelligence assessment that listed returning vets as likely domestic terrorists.
Just a month later, the New York Times reported on how Boy Scout Explorers were being trained by the DHS to kill “disgruntled Iraq war veterans” as part of anti-terror drills. Back in February, constitutional attorney Michael Connelly warned that the government is now moving to strip veterans it determines to be mentally incompetent of their Second Amendment right to own a firearm. Connelly cites a letter “sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America’s heroes.”
“A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition,” the VA letter states. “If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”
“This must be Barack Obama’s way of thanking our veterans for serving,” writes the Gateway Pundit. “US veterans are receiving letters from the government informing them that they are disabled and not allowed to own, purchase or possess a firearm. If the veteran does decide to purchase a firearm he will by fined, imprisoned or both… This comes on page 2 of the VA letter.”
From the Daley Gator: http://thedaleygator.wordpress.com/
The Stupidity of Liberals
Colorado Democrat who sponsored gun bill does not even know how guns work
Ed posted about Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, the lead Democratic sponsor of a federal bill to ban high-capacity magazines earlier but there is more via the Daily Caller which lays bare the Congresswoman’s stunning ignorance
When asked how limiting the number of bullets in magazines would help reduce violence, she replied: “I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them. So if you ban them in the future, the number of these high-capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time, because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.”
Some audience members laughed, but gun-rights advocates weren’t amused.
So, this nimrod does not grasp that a magazine holds bullets, and can be refilled? Yet she feels qualified to sponsor bills dealing with magazines?
From The Daley gator: http://thedaleygator.wordpress.com/
46 Traitor Senators (All Democrats) Voted Yes to Turn Our Constitutional Rights Over to The United Nations
Here Are The 46 Leftist Traitors In The US Senate Who Voted To Turn Your Gun Rights Over To The UN
Here Are The 46 Senators Who Voted To Turn Your Gun Rights Over To UN – Gateway Pundit
Meet the 46 United States Senators who were willing to sign over your 2nd amendment rights to the United Nations.
.
The anti-gun senators are all Democrats or so-called Independents.
Senate Bill 139 passed 53-46. 46 US Senators voted against this: “To uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.”
Wizbang reported:
Fortunately, the odious, anti-American treaty was again voted down by the full Senate, but 46 Senators voted in favor of handing over our Constitutional rights to the UN.
Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) offered Amendment 139 that was passed with a 53 to 46 vote. His Amendment contained language to affirm that foreign treaties would not trump the U.S. Constitution.
“Mr. President,” Inhofe said on the floor of the Senate, “I want to make sure that everyone understands what the United Nations trade treaty is. The trade treaty is a treaty that cedes our authority to have trade agreements with our allies in terms of trading arms.”
He went on to say, “I want to very briefly read this so nobody over there or over here misunderstands what this amendment does. This is right out of the amendment. Uphold the Second Amendment rights, that is one thing. And secondly, prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations arms trade treaties.”
But many Democrats simply didn’t agree with Inhofe’s insistence that the U.S. Constitution trump the UN.
Forty-six Democrats-Independents favored ceding your Constitutional rights over to the United Nations.
Unreal.
From The Daley Gator: http://thedaleygator.wordpress.com/
Another Battle in The War Over Constitutional Gun Rights – Please Contact Your Senators – It’s Easy With the Included Link
Sen. Reid Beefs up “Base Bill” to Destroy Gun Ownership
Sen. Reid Beefs up “Base Bill” to
Destroy Gun Ownership
“Unholy alliances” could become a concern
We now know a lot more about what’s going to happen with gun control legislation than we did a few days ago.
First, the number of the bill we are fighting is S. 649. Harry Reid introduced it on Thursday and brought it directly onto the Senate calendar. This means the bill can now come up at any time — probably soon after the Easter recess is over.
Second, the bill is a lot worse than even we anticipated.
We expected it to contain the Veterans Gun Ban, which would mean that you would sell, gift, or raffle a gun in America at the risk of a 15-year prison sentence because of something you didn’t know about the veteran/buyer.
But, surprisingly to us, the Far Left has convinced Reid to include the original Schumer version of the Universal Registry Bill. This would ban private sales of firearms, unless purchasers first get the permission from the government. If Senators can pass this de facto registration bill, they will be well on the way to confiscation (see, for example, Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York, who has a gun owner registry and has called for gun confiscation). If this bill is passed, Senators will claim that they “broke the back” of gun owners in America.
Third, there is still every evidence that Reid will move to proceed to the bill under “regular order,” which means he will need 60 votes to advance to the “gun control buffet.”
GOA has been talking and making our case with a host of Senate Republicans, and we would hope that everyone in the Senate understands the importance of stopping the “motion to proceed” to Reid’s gun control legislation.
Fourth, as we predicted, anti-gun zealots have begun to use the “ObamaCare Paradigm” to threaten, bribe, and coerce senators into submission on the most far-reaching aspects of gun control, including Feinstein’s proposal to ban shotguns, rifles and handguns that millions of Americans legally own. So if the “motion to proceed” to S. 649 is adopted with 60 votes, then Feinstein’s ban could be passed in the Senate with only 50 votes (plus Biden). Click here for a more technical explanation as to how this would occur.
Already, articles are being published to intimidate any Democratic Senator who votes against any gun control and threatening them with the prospect of facing an anti-gun primary challenger — just like we saw on ObamaCare.
Fifth, there may be unholy alliances at work which could succeed in achieving a dangerous gun control compromise. One Capitol Hill newspaper is now reporting that “Sen. Joe Manchin and the National Rifle Association are quietly engaged in private talks on a proposal to broaden background checks on purchasers of firearms.” We hope this is not true, however you should be aware of this report and use whatever contacts you have to prevent this from happening. Be assured, you can rely on Gun Owners of America to never engage in any compromises!
ACTION: The strategy remains: We need to defeat this bill by filibustering and voting down the “motion to proceed” to S. 649. Please contact your senators and distribute this alert far and wide.
Click here to send your Senators a prewritten email.
Show up at their offices with a delegation during the congressional recess. Rally and conduct demonstrations and call-a-thons and writing campaigns. Know that the anti-gun Left will be doing the same.
From Mad Medic: http://maddmedic.wordpress.com/
The US Constitution’s Number One Public Enemy: Diane (Commie) Feinstein. Don’t Ever Thinks She is Done Trying to Take Our Rights.
Stop Reid & Feinstein’s Palace Coup To Overthrow The Constitution and Bill of Rights
Stop Reid & Feinstein’s Palace Coup To Overthrow
The Constitution and Bill of Rights
DON’T BE FOOLED Feinstein’s Gun Ban S. 150 is not DEAD.
It was stopped at the front door, but the back door is WIDE OPEN.
FAX Congress to BLOCK ALL Gun-Control and Gun-Registration Legislation
Notice in the video how Senator Feinstein takes issue with Senator Cruz when he refers to her “ban” of certain weapons. Even though she titles her bill the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013,” she insists it doesn’t really “ban” weapons; it exempts specified weapons from Second Amendment protections. In other words, her bill strips away Second Amendment protections from applying to weapons not granted a specific exemption in her bill. Here’s the bottom line: Senator Feinstein and her crony co-sponsor Senator Dick Durbin believe Congress has the power to limit Bill-of-Rights guarantees by exempting certain people, places, acts and things from constitutional provisions, such as the inalienable right to own and bear arms. Make no mistake; this legislation is nothing short of a constitutional coup de grace.
Senator Feinstein wails that her bill would permit, mind you PERMIT, 2,271 guns to remain protected by the Second Amendment, so it isn’t a “ban” at all—it is congressional PERMISSION to own certain guns, an indulgence granted by the almighty Congress. This turns the Constitution on its head and makes a mockery of the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights doesn’t PERMIT people anything; it PROHIBITS governments from doing certain things that limit people’s freedom to behave anyway they see fit. It is the Bill of RIGHTS, not the Bill of PRIVILEGES, not a Bill of PERMISSIONS.
Senator Feinstein, are you smarter than a sixth grader? Obviously not, or you wouldn’t say such stupid things about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
___
Stop Reid & Feinstein’s Palace Coup To Overthrow
The Constitution and Bill of Rights
What will be the practical consequences of enacting S. 51 and selectively ignoring the Second Amendment? PRECRIME—a complete reversal of the ancient rights of Englishmen and Americans where the people are guaranteed there will be no detention without charge of a crime; no charge of a crime without probable cause; no conviction of a crime without a trial; no trial without a jury; no conviction without proof beyond a reasonable doubt; no punishment without conviction; no cruel and unusual punishment and no excessive punishment disproportionate to the crime.
The smoking gun that the Feinstein weapons ban bill is the precursor to PRECRIME is that fact that she refused to expand the bill (S.150) to exempt military veterans because they might be “mentally incapacitated.” She would turn “veteran” into a suspect class of likely criminals thus “exempt” from, which is to say make them ineligible for Second-Amendment guarantees. But the “exemptions” from constitutional rights in Queenie Feinstein’s Wonderland don’t stop there.
Consider how under the Patriot Act the government already decides whether any random person might be a terrorist and thus subject to dodgy anti-terrorist PRECRIME actions, which Senator Feinstein’s weapons-ban bill would only exacerbate. The ACLU reports that the law treats a person as a domestic terrorist if they engage in any “act dangerous to human life” that “appears to be intended to (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.”
As Senator Rand Paul said when the National Defense Authorization Act was passed last year expanding PRECRIME powers for “suspected terrorists,” the government now claims under the color of law the power to “arrest suspects without a warrant, hold them without trial, deny them access to counsel or admission of bail,” and as a result, “We have shorn the Bill of Rights of its sanctity.”
The Feinstein gun-ban bill is another stab in the heart of the Constitution, a mortal blow to the Bill of Rights.
From Mad Medic: http://maddmedic.wordpress.com/
As a Matter of Fact: Diane Feinstein Does Need to Be Lectured on the Constitution
Note to Dianne Feinstein:
Note to Dianne Feinstein:
You Do Need to be Lectured on the Constitution
In case you missed it, an interesting exchange took place in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz politely asked gun-control crazy Dianne Feinstein how she would feel about applying her minimalist view on the Second Amendment to other parts of the Bill of Rights.
Feinstein went into orbit. “I’m not a sixth grader,” she huffed. Invoking her extensive Senate history of spitting on the Constitution, she made it clear that she didn’t appreciate being reminded of the Constitution’s restrictions on her legislative will.
Feinstein suggested that Congress should pass anti-gun legislation without considering the Constitution, in the expectation that the courts will sort it out. Notwithstanding the fact that Feinstein and every other senator had taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution.
So here’s where we are: In a few weeks, after Easter recess, Harry Reid will move to proceed to some gun control proposal, probably the Veterans Gun Ban (S. 54). He’ll then use his privileged recognition to set up a whole lot of votes intended to get Democrats reelected in 2014.
Democrats will be given a shot at voting against the crazy Feinstein gun ban. But then Reid will do what he did on ObamaCare and play let’s-make-a-deal for votes on other gun control.
Bribes and tradeoffs will be made. And votes will be scheduled with a view to making Republicans maximally vulnerable by making them vote against measures which biased polling shows are popular in their states. Republican senators need to join together as a caucus to oppose the “motion to proceed” to any gun control legislation.
Let the Democrats be the ones forced to bite the bullet and vote for a “motion to proceed” which is framed as a vote in support of the Feinstein gun ban.
Under regular order, 41 Republicans can block any gun control this way. Harry Reid can use a special procedure under the anti-gun rules changes to force a vote with 51 Democrats, but, if he does, Mitch McConnell gets to “stop the trains” by offering the first unamendable amendment – a process which Reid cannot relish.
ACTION: Click here to contact your Senators. Demand that they vote against any “motion to proceed” to any gun control proposal. Demand that he oppose a motion to proceed to the “gun control buffet.”
From mad Medic: http://maddmedic.wordpress.com/
Decide Now Before It is Too Late…
Resistance Arises to Colorado Gun-Grabbers
Resisting tyranny is a duty of every American at not only the federal but the state level. Law enforcement officials across the country have demonstrated their patriotism by openly declaring that they will not enforce unconstitutional gun grabs by Obama, Feinstein, et al. More locally, in Colorado:
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said he won’t enforce either gun-control measure waiting to be signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper, saying the laws are “unenforceable” and would “give a false sense of security.”
One bill passed Friday would expand requirements to have background checks for firearm purchases. Hickenlooper is expected to sign it into law within two weeks.
Earlier this week, Colorado lawmakers approved a 15-round limit on ammunition magazines. It also is awaiting the expected approval of the governor.
Cooke said Democratic lawmakers are uninformed but are scrambling in reaction to recent tragedies in the nation.
“They’re feel-good, knee-jerk reactions that are unenforceable,” he said.
The sheriff pointed out that requiring a $10 background check to transfer ownership of a gun will not prevent criminals from obtaining them.
Cooke said the other bill would also technically ban all magazines because of a provision that outlaws any magazine that can be altered. He said all magazines can be altered to a higher capacity.
Cooke said he, like other county sheriffs, “won’t bother enforcing” the laws because it will be impossible for them to keep track of how the requirements are being met by gun owners.
The laws aren’t intended to be enforceable or to keep guns away from criminals. They are meant to advance the objective of making “law-abiding gun owner” an oxymoron.
As Leonardo da Vinci wisely observed, “It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.” By now, giving another millimeter to America’s authoritarian enemies is out of the question.
On tips from Muddypaw, Rich, G. Fox, and BoJangles. Hat tips: Mr. Conservative, Freedom Outpost.
By Dave Blount at Moonbattery: http://moonbattery.com/
Dianne Feinstein’s Ban On Guns Going Forward…Better Wake Up Patriots
CCRKBA.org
BELLEVUE, WA – -(Ammoland.com)- Thursday’s strict party-line vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to move anti-gun Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s measure banning so-called “assault weapons” was an insult to millions of law-abiding American citizens who own such firearms and have harmed nobody, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.
“Instead of banning the most popular firearm in the country,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “we need to ban politicians who assault our rights. We are appalled and disappointed that Sen. Feinstein and her cronies have advanced this measure, which demonizes firearms that are used thousands of times each year to protect lives and property from criminal attack.”
Gottlieb noted that FBI crime data says that rifles of any kind are used in only a fraction of violent crimes annually, “yet Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have allowed this legislative travesty to move forward.”
“Demonizing certain firearms, and by default the people who own them, has become a scapegoat strategy by politicians who have allowed a broken justice system to release violent offenders back on the street while disarming their potential victims,” Gottlieb said. “By focusing their energy on disarming law-abiding citizens, politicians like Sen. Feinstein are perpetuating a myth that firearms cause crime. That’s as foolish as believing that cars cause drunk driving.”
Sen. Feinstein acknowledged that her legislation faces an uphill battle when it reaches the full Senate.
“We will encourage our members to contact their senators about this legislation,” Gottlieb said. “Public policy and constitutional rights should not be subject to the whims of gun prohibitionists who are quick to exploit the crimes committed by a few crazy people, in order to advance their agenda of public disarmament.”
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.
Distributed to you by - AmmoLand.com – The Shooting Sports News source.Read more at Ammoland.com: http://www.ammoland.com/2013/03/ccrkba-blasts-party-line-passage-of-feinstein-gun-ban-measure/#ixzz2Ndw0QIFb
Jeff Cooper Clarifies Why The Government Wants to Take Your Guns
“The media insist that crime is the major concern of the American public today. In this connection they generally push the point that a disarmed society would be a crime-free society. They will not accept the truth that if you take all the guns off the street you still will have a crime problem, whereas if you take the criminals off the street you cannot have a gun problem.”
“In the larger sense, however, the personal ownership of firearms is only secondarily a matter of defense against the criminal. Note the following from Thomas Jefferson: The strongest reason for the people to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against the tyranny of government. That is why our masters in Washington are so anxious to disarm us. They are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of a populace which cannot be subdued by tyrants.”
Words of Wisdom from Jeff Cooper
Favorite Quotes from Jeff Cooper
Col. Jeff Cooper
“We are steadily asked about the age at which to teach young people to shoot. The answer to this obviously depends upon the particular individual; not only his physical maturity but his desire. Apart from these considerations, however, I think it important to understand that it is the duty of the father to teach the son to shoot. Before the young man leaves home, there are certain things he should know and certain skills he should acquire, apart from any state-sponsored activity. Certainly the youngster should be taught to swim, strongly and safely, at distance. And young people of either sex should be taught to drive a motor vehicle, and if at all possible, how to fly a light airplane. I believe a youngster should be taught the rudiments of hand-to-hand combat, unarmed, together with basic survival skills. The list is long, but it is a parent’s duty to make sure that the child does not go forth into the world helpless in the face of its perils. Shooting, of course, is our business, and shooting should not be left up to the state.”
“It is interesting to hear certain kinds of people insist that the citizen cannot fight the government. This would have been news to the men of Lexington and Concord, as well as the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. The citizen most certainly can fight the government, and usually wins when he tries. Organized national armies are useful primarily for fighting against other organized national armies. When they try to fight against the people, they find themselves at a very serious disadvantage. If you will just look around at the state of the world today, you will see that the guerillero has the upper hand. Irregulars usually defeat regulars, providing they have the will. Such fighting is horrible to contemplate, but will continue to dominate brute strength.”
“It has never been clear to me why increased magazine capacity in a defensive pistol is particularly choice. The bigger the magazine the bigger the gun, and the bigger the gun the harder it is to get hold of for people with small hands. And what, pray, does one need all those rounds for? How many lethal antagonists do you think you are going to be able to handle? Once when Bruce Nelson was asked by a suspect if the thirteen-round magazine in the P35 was not a big advantage, Bruce’s answer was, “Well, yes, if you plan to miss a lot.” The highest score I know of at this time achieved by one man against a group of armed adversaries was recorded in (of all places) the Ivory Coast! There, some years ago, a graduate student of mine laid out five goblins, with four dead and one totaled for the hospital. Of course there is the episode of Alvin York and his eight, but there is some dispute about that tale. (If you read it over very carefully you will see what I mean.) Be that as it may, I see no real need for a double column magazine. It is all the rage, of course, and like dual air bags, it is a popular current sales gimmick.”
“One cannot legislate the maniacs off the street… these maniacs can only be shut down by an armed citizenry. Indeed bad things can happen in nations where the citizenry is armed, but not as bad as those which seem to be threatening our disarmed citizenry in this country at this time.”
“Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.”
“Remember the first rule of gunfighting… ‘have a gun.’”
“The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory.”
“The will to survive is not as important as the will to prevail… the answer to criminal aggression is retaliation.”
“Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.”
“All the people constitute the militia — according to the Founding Fathers. Therefore every able-bodied man has a duty under the Constitution to become part of the “well-regulated” militia, specifically to understand and perform well with the individual weapon currently issued to the regular establishment. . . . Thus one who has not qualified himself with the M-16 may not be considered to be a responsible citizen.”
On Federal Law Enforcement Officials:
“Already a couple of the faithful have sent in checks for a foundation memorial to the innocents who perished at the hands of the ninja at Waco. … I have been criticized by referring to our federal masked men as “ninja” … Let us reflect upon the fact that a man who covers his face shows reason to be ashamed of what he is doing. A man who takes it upon himself to shed blood while concealing his identity is a revolting perversion of the warrior ethic. It has long been my conviction that a masked man with a gun is a target. I see no reason to change that view.”
“One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that ‘violence begets violence.’ I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure—and in some cases I have—that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.”
– Cooper vs. Terrorism
“The purpose of the pistol is to stop a fight that somebody else has started, almost always at very short range.”
“Bushido is all very well in its way, but it is no match for a 30-06.”
“A free man must not be told how to think, either by the government or by social activists. He may certainly be shown the right way, but he must not accept being forced into it.”
“The conclusions seem inescapable that in certain circles a tendency has arisen to fear people who fear government. Government, as the Father of Our Country put it so well, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. People who understand history, especially the history of government, do well to fear it. For a people to express openly their fear of those of us who are afraid of tyranny is alarming. Fear of the state is in no sense subversive. It is, to the contrary, the healthiest political philosophy for a free people.” – Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries, vol. 4, no. 16, December, 1996
“Hoplophobia is a mental disturbance characterized by irrational aversion to weapons, as opposed to justified apprehension about those who may wield them.” – To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth
“The media insist that crime is the major concern of the American public today. In this connection they generally push the point that a disarmed society would be a crime-free society. They will not accept the truth that if you take all the guns off the street you still will have a crime problem, whereas if you take the criminals off the street you cannot have a gun problem.”
“In the larger sense, however, the personal ownership of firearms is only secondarily a matter of defense against the criminal. Note the following from Thomas Jefferson:
The strongest reason for the people to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against the tyranny of government.
That is why our masters in Washington are so anxious to disarm us. They are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of a populace which cannot be subdued by tyrants.” – Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries, Vol. 2, No. 5, May 1994
“The 1911 pistol remains the service pistol of choice in the eyes of those who understand the problem. Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair.” — Col. Jeff Cooper, GUNS & AMMO, January 2002
From Sight1911.Com: http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/rkba/Cooper_Quotes.htm
Jeff Cooper: Flash Sight Picture Technique For Pistol Shooting
History
In 1956 Jeff Cooper started holding “Leatherslap” shooting events and established the “Bear Valley Gunslingers” at Big Bear Lake, California. The initial events consisted of straight quick-draw matches, with the goal of competitors to draw and hit a target at seven yards faster than the other competitor. They were the first matches of their kind, unrestricted as to technique, weapon, caliber, holster, or profession.[1]
Initially, competitors primarily used some form of Point Shooting, which consisted of single-handed shooting techniques, with the pistol fired from the hip. This was a popular technique and believed to be the best suited to the purpose. However, many of the shooters using Point Shooting would discharge several rounds from the hip in rapid succession, but miss the 18-inch balloons seven yards away. One of the early champions, Jack Weaver, switched to an eye-level, two-handed, aimed technique. In his words, “a pretty quick hit was better than a lightning-fast miss.”[2]
Weaver’s string of victories, resulting from his new method, influenced adoption of the technique and abandonment of Point Shooting. Soon, firearms trainers, most notably Cooper, began refining and codifying the concept; the result became the “Modern Technique of the Pistol”.
Components
The Modern Technique of the Pistol consists of four elements:
Weaver stance
The Weaver stance consists of two components. The first is gripping the pistol with two hands so that the slight forward pressure on the grip of the hand that drew the pistol is opposed by a rearward pressure on the grip of the second hand. This action aids in controlling the recoil of the pistol to stabilize the pistol for subsequent shots. The second component, and most commonly known, is the positioning of the feet in a walking stance, with the off-side foot ahead of the strong-side foot. A right-handed person will have the right foot angled out to the side and further to the rear. Most of the weight will be on the left foot, with the knee slightly bent. The shoulders will be leaned forward over the left toe. The right foot behind will help catch the force of recoil, as well as allow for rapid changes in position. A left-handed person will have the right foot forward.
Flash Sight Picture
The Flash Sight Picture is a method of allowing the cognitive faculties of the shooter to align the target and the sights without the delay involved in the conscious alignment of sights, as used when slow-firing a rifle at a distant target. In point shooting, by contrast, the pistol is drawn from the holster and fired from the hip, without the sights being aligned at all.
In slow-fire rifle shooting, the front sight and rear sight of the rifle are aligned with the distant target with great care, taking at least several seconds.
The Flash Sight Picture technique falls between these two methods. During a gunfight, waiting to align the sights is too slow. However, more accuracy than point shooting is required to hit one’s assailant reliably. It is physically impossible for the human eye to focus simultaneously on the rearsight (nearest to one’s eye), the frontsight (further away from one’s eye), and the relatively distant target at the same time. The muscles of the eye adjust to focus sight on one specific distance optimally at any one instant, so 3 different distances mean the shooter’s focus must hunt (muscular physical adjustments) between all three points of mental concentration. The greatest adjustment of focus (relatively more ocular muscle contraction) is required to view shorter distances, such as the gun’s rearsight. In the Modern Technique the shooter is taught to focus on the front sight of the pistol and align it against the target, ignoring the rearsight for quicker aiming and minimal physical requirements. This prevents the focus of the eye from hunting between rear sight, front sight and target, wasting vital time in refocusing.
The technique is called ‘flash’ sight picture because the cognition is best able to perform this function when the target and frontsight are presented quickly as a single image, in a ‘flash’, as if the shooter had just turned around to face a threat appearing from close by. The shooter’s vision can “see” the rear sight, even if the focus is on the front sight. This is enough for the cognition to make an alignment. With the flash sight picture, the front sight and a rapidly presented image of the target are used to align the pistol. This is faster than slow-fire rifle, and offers more chance of hitting the target than point shooting from the hip.
The cognitive functions of the brain align objects in the hand with distant objects at great speed. This ability of human cognition can be used to align the pistol with the target. Colonel Cooper discovered this specific ability and named it the “Flash Sight Picture”.
Human cognition can perceive a “Flash Sight Picture” at a speed faster than conscious awareness. This facility was discovered during World War II experiments with rapid recognition of aircraft silhouettes. Experimentation was continued after the war and branched into subliminal advertising in the 1960s, where images were flashed onto cinema screens for a duration too short for the viewer to notice, yet for cognition to have observed the image nonetheless.Use of the Flash Sight Picture requires a rapid acquisition of the frontsight in order to allow the brain to perform its calculations. This focus on the frontsight is one of the main themes Colonel Cooper impressed upon students of the Modern Technique to clear their minds when shooting during a confrontation. The emphasis for students of the Modern Technique on the word “frontsight” was so great, that a shooting school and a shooting magazine were named after this phrase.
Surprise break
Here the compressed, surprise break of the trigger is used to discharge the firearm.
In this technique, one should pull the trigger to have the shot break as if it were a glass rod. When the compression of the trigger by the finger reaches an appropriate point, the ‘glass rod’ of the trigger will break and discharge the firearm. The ‘surprise break’ of the ‘glass rod’ means the pistol remains aligned on the target while the muscles in the shooter’s hand adjust from merely gripping the pistol to depressing the trigger at the same time. This disturbance in the muscles of the hand, while it attempts to move the trigger backwards while still holding the pistol steady, can cause the alignment of the firearm to shift, causing the shot to miss the target. The gradual compression of the trigger by the hand muscles means the alignment may be observed by the eye during the process of compression and kept on the target, regardless of slight changes to the alignment introduced by the muscles of the hand starting to squeeze the trigger.
This process must take place as fast as possible, yet without disturbing the pistol.
Semi-automatic pistol in a large caliber
The Modern Technique may be used with any handgun, but the .45 ACP caliber Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol is universally associated with Jeff Cooper and the Modern Technique.
Jeff Cooper specified the use of a large caliber semi-automatic pistol as a component of the Modern Technique. He chose a large caliber because experience demonstrated that the largest quantity of force, and therefore damage, should be inflicted to maximize the chances of stopping even the most motivated and physically tough assailant.
The choice of magazine-fed semi-automatic handgun was because this firearm enabled continuous fire by allowing fresh magazines to be inserted quickly by the shooter. Most revolvers require the shooter to reload it by placing individual cartridges into the chambers of the cylinder, which is a slower process than the replacement of a magazine in a semi-automatic pistol. Furthermore, reloading a revolver in the dark is very difficult, while reloading a semi-automatic pistol is relatively easy. During World War II (prior to developing the Modern Technique), after taking advice from a distinguished authority on gun fighting, Charles Askins, Jeff Cooper took a Colt Single Action Army revolver into combat in the Pacific theater and subsequently remarked that this advice nearly got him killed.
Bullet wounds vary in how much they incapacitate an assailant. The greater the injury inflicted, the greater the chance of killing one’s assailant or wounding him so badly he is no longer able to fight. According to Cooper, larger caliber bullets, being bullets of greater diameter, are more likely to inflict wounds that bleed severely and incapacitate the assailant in a shorter period of time. Jeff Cooper’s studies of reports from gun fights pointed to the greater effectiveness of larger diameter bullets in killing or incapacitating an assailant.
The pistol is a small firearm and because of this it is impractical to launch a large bullet because the recoil generated would make it difficult for the shooter to control the pistol’s violent kick on firing. It is not practical to launch a bullet with a diameter greater than .45 or .50 of an inch from a pistol because of the weight of the bullet and the subsequent recoil of the pistol. Hence Jeff Cooper’s preference for a pistol launching a bullet of .45 diameter, or in the case of a shooter of such slight stature that they are unable to use a .45 caliber pistol, the use of a pistol firing a bullet of as large a diameter as is practical for the shooter to control.
The ability of different types and sizes of bullet to damage and incapacitate human beings and other creatures is called stopping power. Stopping power is a controversial subject because of the absence of data from controlled experiments and therefore a lack of scientific data that would demonstrate the superiority of one particular type of cartridge over another.
“D.V.C.”
Jeff Cooper summarized the Modern Technique in his personal motto: D. V. C..
This initialism stands for three Latin words:
- Diligentia – Accuracy: You must hit your assailant in order to injure him.
- Vis – Force: You must strike your opponent with sufficient force to incapacitate him.
- Celeritas – Speed: You must strike him quickly, so your opponent does not injure you before you injure him.
It is this motto ‘D.V.C.’, and the word ‘frontsight’ that students of the Modern Technique would take away with them. Such is the prevalence and intensity of the imprint of these two concepts during training in the Modern Technique.
Cooper’s color code
During training in the Modern Technique Cooper emphasized that readiness was everything.
Cooper asserted that if the individual weren’t prepared to encounter danger at all times, the technique used and the pistol selected were of no consequence. To underscore this point and give students a reference with which to evaluate their own behavior, Cooper developed a color code of readiness, consisting of four states of readiness:
- White – Readiness is non-existent. The individual’s readiness would be white if he were asleep, or reading a book, or otherwise without any perception of his surroundings or movements within them.
- Yellow – Readiness is general. The individual is aware of his surroundings and monitoring what is happening in those surroundings.
- Orange – Readiness is specific. The individual is aware of any activity or person within his surroundings which presents a threat.
- Red – Readiness to face danger. The individual is aware of an immediate threat, which will likely result in the use of deadly force.
Cooper’s color code is frequently mistaken as an indicator of danger, rather than an indicator of readiness. The student may be in grave danger, but may be asleep and thus his level of readiness is ‘Condition White’ with readiness being non-existent. For most individuals, even those whose occupations take them to dangerous regions, awareness condition ‘yellow’ will be the condition they spend 99% of their waking lives within. Specific threats, leading to readiness in Condition Orange would be rare.
This color code of readiness has been adopted by third parties, including the United States Marine Corps.
From Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Technique_of_the_Pistol
Jeff Cooper: Father of Modern Pistol Techniques
Jeff Cooper – From Wikepedia
History
Born John Dean Cooper, but known to his friends as “Jeff”, Cooper graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He received a regular commission in the United States Marine Corps in September 1941. During World War II he served in the Pacific on the USS Pennsylvania. By the end of the war he had been promoted to major. Feeling his career prospects were limited by his lack of infantry experience, he resigned his commission in 1949. He returned to active duty during the Korean War, was involved in irregular warfare, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. After the Korean war the Marine Corps declined his application to remain on active duty. In the mid-1960s, he received a master’s degree in history from the University of California, Riverside.[1]
In 1976, Cooper founded the American Pistol Institute (API) in Paulden, Arizona (later the Gunsite Training Center). Cooper began teaching shotgun and rifle classes to law enforcement and military personnel as well as civilians and did on-site training for individuals and groups from around the world. He sold the firm in 1992 but continued living on the Paulden ranch. He was known for his advocacy of large caliber handguns, especially the Colt 1911 and the .45 ACP cartridge.
Cooper died at his home on the afternoon of Monday, September 25, 2006 at the age of 86.[2]
The Modern Technique
Cooper’s modern technique defines pragmatic use of the pistol for personal protection. The modern technique emphasizes two-handed shooting using the Weaver stance, replacing the once-prevalent one-handed shooting. The five elements of the modern technique are:
- A large caliber pistol, preferably a semi-auto
- The Weaver stance
- The presentation
- The flash sight picture
- The compressed surprise trigger break[3]
Cooper favored the Colt M1911 and its variants. There are several conditions of readiness in which such a weapon can be carried. Cooper promulgated most of the following terms:
- Condition Four: Chamber empty, no magazine, hammer down.
- Condition Three: Chamber empty, full magazine in place, hammer down.
- Condition Two: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer down.
- Condition One: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety on.
- Condition Zero: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety off.
Some of these configurations are safer than others (for instance, a single action pistol without a firing pin safety such as a transfer bar system should never be carried in Condition 2), while others are quicker to fire the gun (Condition 1). In the interest of consistent training, most agencies that issue the 1911 specify the condition in which it is to be carried as a matter of local doctrine.
This firearm condition system can also be used to refer to other firearm actions, particularly when illustrating the differences between carry modes considered to be safe for various actions. For example, DA/SA is designed to be carried in Condition 2, which is not safe for 1911s without firing pin safeties.
Bren Ten
Cooper conceived and designed the Bren Ten pistol around the 10mm Auto, based on the Czech CZ 75 design. The cartridge was more powerful than both the 9×19mm Parabellum and the .45 ACP round.[4]
Combat Mindset—The Cooper Color Code
The most important means of surviving a lethal confrontation, according to Cooper, is neither the weapon nor the martial skills. The primary tool is the combat mindset, set forth in his book, Principles of Personal Defense.[5] In the chapter on awareness, Cooper presents an adaptation of the Marine Corps system to differentiate states of readiness:
The color code, as originally introduced by Jeff Cooper, had nothing to do with tactical situations or alertness levels, but rather with one’s state of mind. As taught by Cooper, it relates to the degree of peril you are willing to do something about and which allows you to move from one level of mindset to another to enable you to properly handle a given situation. Cooper did not claim to have invented anything in particular with the color code, but he was apparently the first to use it as an indication of mental state.[6]
- White: Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be “Oh my God! This can’t be happening to me.”
- Yellow: Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that “today could be the day I may have to defend myself”. You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that “I may have to shoot today”. You don’t have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don’t know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to “Watch your six.” (In aviation 12 o’clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft’s nose. Six o’clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are “taking in” surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, “I might have to shoot.”
- Orange: Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to “I may have to shoot that person today”, focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: “If that person does “X”, I will need to stop them”. Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.
- Red: Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. “If ‘X’ happens I will shoot that person”.
The USMC uses condition Black, although it was not originally part of Cooper’s Color Code. Condition Black: Catastrophic breakdown of mental and physical performance. Usually over 175 heartbeats per minute, increased heart rate becomes counter productive. May have stopped thinking correctly. This can happen when going from Condition White or Yellow immediately to Condition Red.
In short, the Color Code helps you “think” in a fight. As the level of danger increases, your willingness to take certain actions increases. If you ever do go to Condition Red, the decision to use lethal force has already been made (your “mental trigger” has been tripped).
The following are some of Cooper’s additional comments on the subject.
Considering the principles of personal defense, we have long since come up with the Color Code. This has met with surprising success in debriefings throughout the world. The Color Code, as we preach it, runs white, yellow, orange, and red, and is a means of setting one’s mind into the proper condition when exercising lethal violence, and is not as easy as I had thought at first. There is a problem in that some students insist upon confusing the appropriate color with the amount of danger evident in the situation. As I have long taught, you are not in any color state because of the specific amount of danger you may be in, but rather in a mental state which enables you to take a difficult psychological step. Now, however, the government has gone into this and is handing out color codes nationwide based upon the apparent nature of a peril. It has always been difficult to teach the Gunsite Color Code, and now it is more so. We cannot say that the government’s ideas about colors are wrong, but that they are different from what we have long taught here. The problem is this: your combat mind-set is not dictated by the amount of danger to which you are exposed at the time. Your combat mind-set is properly dictated by the state of mind you think appropriate to the situation. You may be in deadly danger at all times, regardless of what the Defense Department tells you. The color code which influences you does depend upon the willingness you have to jump a psychological barrier against taking irrevocable action. That decision is less hard to make since the jihadis have already made it.
He further simplified things in Vol. 13 #7 of his Commentaries.
- “In White you are unprepared and unready to take lethal action. If you are attacked in White you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.
- In Yellow you bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and that you may have to do something about it.
- In Orange you have determined upon a specific adversary and are prepared to take action which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.
- In Red you are in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant.”[7]
Firearms safety
Cooper advocated four basic rules of gun safety:[8]
- All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
- Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
- Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
Rifle concepts
Cooper is best known for his revolutionary work in pistol training, but he favored the rifle for tactical shooting. He often described the handgun as a convenient-to-carry stopgap weapon, allowing someone the opportunity to get to a rifle.
- “Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons.”
- “The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized.”
- “The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.”
- —Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle
- Found at Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Cooper
Gun Free Zone is a Killing Zone
“Gun Free School Zone” is a lie every bit as much as “Arbeit Macht Frei”
They look at the massacre and see the need for more regulation, registration and confiscation.