A friendly CCW State...Arizona

Arizona State Makes Move To PAY Its Residents To Carry Guns… Spread This EVERYWHERE

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One state is looking to add an incentive for residents who wish to obtain a concealed carry permit, and it’s going to make liberals furious.

Arizona House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro introduced a bill that would allow Arizonans to get a tax break if they obtain a concealed carry permit along with weapons training.

Currently, any adult can carry a concealed weapon in Arizona under what is commonly known as “constitutional carry.” Providing a tax break for training only ensures safety for all involved.

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The measure would offer a tax credit of up to $80 toward the cost of a permit and training, according to KJZZ.

The cost of a permit in Arizona is $60 and renewals cost $43.

“Law enforcement have told us time and again that the first line of defense are those that carry CCW permits,” Montenegro said.

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“In essence, what it does is it’s bringing a level of awareness that we want to make sure that we can say maybe the next generation of those that want to have or possess firearms, they understand that we as a state value making sure that people are educated in how to use weapons or how to carry weapons,” he added.

Approximately 3 million adults could benefit from the tax credit, which would cost the state about $240 million in revenue. Montenegro has not specified where those funds would come from.

Liberals will no doubt fight the measure because it encourages citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights, which they hate even more than most of our other God-given freedoms.

No date has yet been set for the Arizona legislature to consider the proposal.

http://conservativetribune.com/state-pay-residents-carry-guns/

$100 Utah & Arizona CCW License Class- for Illinois residents

$100 - Utah, Florida & Arizona CCW License Class - for Illinois residents

Get three (3) non-resident Utah, Florida & Arizona CCW permits / licenses - together legally and safely conceal carry handgun(s) in over 34 States. 

Location: VFW Villa Park,  Illinois 

Date: February 27th (9AM - 1PM)

Cost: $100.00 

331-642-8110 / www.IllinoisCC.com

Why we conceal carry...

WHY WE CARRY: Customer Shot And Killed During Restaurant Robbery

JEFFERSON COUNTY, LOUISIANA — An armed robber held a Jack In The Box employee at gunpoint and when the employee failed to comply with his request, he allegedly shot and killed him according to police and surveillance video.  WSFA 12 recalls the harrowing incident in which there were two employees on duty and one of them on the register when a 19-year-old with an illegally obtained handgun stood up the store nonchalantly.  According to the Chief of Police, the employee showed no resistance to the armed robber.

“A person who just walked into the restaurant, into the Jack’s as if he was going to make an order. Told the victim to get on the floor or he would kill him and eight seconds later he killed him. He just murdered the guy in cold blood as it could possibly be,” Pleasant Grove Police Chief Corky Knight said.

The suspect is now in custody and will be charged with capital murder and robbery.  He is also believed to be linked to a separate armed robbery at a pizza place not far from the Jack In The Box.  Jack In The Box stated they intend to assist with the funeral expensesassociated with their employee’s death.

It’s unknown what the Jack In The Box corporate policy is on employees being allowed to carry concealed so it’s impossible to know whether the employee in question even had the ability to be legally armed during the confrontation or whether or not that would have saved his life.  What we do know is that armed citizens can and do play a pivotal role in ensuring crap like this doesn’t go down.  Police can only be so omnipresent.

Stories like this are an excellent example of why we carry — because perhaps it wasn’t just an employee but someone’s son, daughter, mother, or father that could and should have been saved by a good-hearted concealed carrier happening around the restaurant in the late night.

We don’t know when that opportunity will present itself — to be in the position to save our own life or that of another from the likes of cut-throat monsters that have absolute no regard from human life.  What we do know is if and when that moment does present itself, should we not be prepared to return that deadly force in kind?

Concealed carriers are heavily dissuaded from using the terms “shoot to kill” or anything of the nature.  That said, I sincerely hope the sweat off the brow of this cold-blooded murderer makes a crispy sizzle when it hits the electric chair.

http://concealednation.org/2016/01/why-we-carry-customer-shot-and-killed-during-restaurant-robbery/

Pocket carry

Above Photo by Oleg Volk

Pocket Carrying a firearm is becoming more and more popular as manufacturers make the pocket pistol even better. There has been an explosion of these firearms flooding into the market in recent years and in turn has driven up the desire for people to use this method of carry.

Each different method of carrying has it’s own set of rules that should be followed, and pocket carry is no exception. To be as safe as you can and avoid any negligent discharges, follow these 5 rules below if this is your carry method of choice:

1) User a proper holster and/or trigger guard

Carrying in your pocket with a naked firearm is an absolute no-no. If you don’t want to be a ticking time-bomb, get some adequate protection for that trigger. A simple pocket holster that covers your entire trigger guard is the best option.

2) Keep your pocket a strict ‘Pocket Gun Only’ pocket

The safest and most effective way is to keep your pocket clear of everything except your firearm and it’s holster. That means no keys, money, wallets or anything else. We don’t want anything that could potentially hit the trigger, and we want to be able to draw the firearm easily if needed.

3) Watch your muzzle

If you have a firearm in your pocket with the muzzle pointing toward the floor, you’re pretty good while you’re walking around. What if though, you’re at a restaurant with someone that is sitting directly across from you? Now, your firearm may be pointing directly at them. Keep the orientation of your firearm in mind when you’re moving about with your daily activities. Don’t break any of the 4 Rules of Gun Safety.

4) Keep your hands out of your carry pocket

Just as if you were carrying IWB, don’t touch your firearm all day. If you need to adjust, do so in a manner that doesn’t draw attention to yourself. Yes, pocket carry is much different than other methods where you may stand out more, but keep the touching to a minimum.

5) Don’t wear really tight pants

Even though you’re responsibly carrying in a proper pocket holster, your firearm may still cast it’s outline in your pants pocket. Try not to print when your firearm is in your pocket (or anywhere for that matter). Remember, we’re going for concealed here.

As always, make sure that you practice with any method of carry that you choose. Being unprepared if the time comes when you need your firearm is not a good situation to be in. There is no such thing as practicing too much.

http://concealednation.org/2014/07/5-rules-to-follow-if-you-pocket-carry/

How to Cure Common Shooting Mistakes

As any new shooter soon discovers, shooting a handgun accurately isn’t nearly as easy as they make it look on TV. Attaining proficiency requires a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of marksmanship coupled with a strong desire to improve. One of the best ways to better your skills is to analyze your targets routinely and listen to what they’re telling you.

Assuming your handgun is properly zeroed, sight alignment issues will show up quickly on target—as in these examples. At far left, proper sight alignment: Top of the front sight even with the top of the rear sight, front post centered in the rear notch.

Of the seven fundamentals of marksmanship, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control are most critical to handgun accuracy. Sight alignment is the relationship between the handgun’s front and rear sight. Sight picture is simply a matter of superimposing the aligned sights onto the intended target. Trigger control refers to the depression of the trigger to the rear until the shot breaks.

To align your handgun’s sights properly, you must confirm that the top of the front sight is level with the top of the rear sight. This ensures proper elevation, meaning that your aim is neither too high nor too low. Of course, you must also align the sights horizontally.

When your sights are aligned properly, there will be equal distance between the front sight and either side of the rear-sight notch. If there is more of a gap on the right side, the pistol is pointing more to the left than you intend, and rounds will go that way, and vice versa.

Sight alignment becomes more critical as the distance between you and the target increases. Handguns field editor Dave Spaulding, founder of Handgun Combatives, and other prominent instructors will tell you that if your sight alignment is off by just 1/16th of an inch at 20 feet, the result will be a 4.5-inch separation between point of impact and your intended target.

How do you know if you’re dealing with sight alignment issues? If, say, your groups at the five-yard line are pretty much on the money, but at 20 yards they’re printing considerably farther left, you may need to work on alignment. However, also have someone else shoot the gun to rule out the possibility of the sights themselves being misaligned. If your zero is off, that too will really start to show up at longer distances.

Trial and Error
Keep in mind this is only one possibility. These results could also be indicative of the gun shifting in your hand as you shoot. Analyzing a target is like diagnosing a problem with a vehicle. A qualified mechanic can narrow the field of potential causes based on the way the vehicle is performing, just as you can eliminate certain shooting errors based where your rounds impact the target, but there is bound to be a degree of trial and error involved in either endeavor.

As with most shooting problems, sight alignment can be improved through dry-fire practice. With an unloaded handgun or a designated training gun, simply punch out the weapon until it intersects your line of sight. Then look for that proper placement of the front sight within the notch of the rear sight.

Rather than merely glimpsing this proper sight alignment, force yourself to stare at it for approximately 30 seconds. This will help imbed the image of proper sight alignment into your mind so that it’s more recognizable for you when you’re on the range or, more importantly, during a personal-defense situation.

Groups scattered? It may be that you lack front-sight focus. The front sight must be the sharpest object in the sight picture for consistent, accurate shot placement.

Achieving a proper sight picture requires nothing more than placing those perfectly aligned sights over your intended target. By combining proper sight alignment and sight picture, you have successfully aimed your handgun. As long as you maintain that proper aim throughout the process of firing your handgun, your point of impact should be very close to your point of aim—and your targets should reflect that.

If your rounds are scattered, the problem could be that you’re focusing more on the target than the front sight. As you can imagine, this is a serious concern when facing an armed assailant in the real world. By default, if you’re focused on the threat, you’re not focused on the front sight of your handgun.

For optimal accuracy, you should be focused intently on the front sight when the trigger is depressed. This means both the target and your rear sight will be slightly blurred. Many shooters are aware of the importance of front-sight focus, but I wonder how many actually focus on the front sight at the exclusion of both the target and the rear sight.

It wasn’t until I had carried a handgun on duty for several years that I truly understood what it meant to obtain that elusive crystal clear image of the front sight. One day at the range, something finally “clicked” and the front sight became more pronounced than ever before. Prior to this revelation, I had merely looked at the front sight when shooting, but I hadn’t focused on it as intently as was necessary to obtain maximum accuracy from my handgun.

In order to hammer home the importance of front sight focus, many instructors encourage their students to look for a tiny imperfection on the front sight and focus on that as opposed to the entire front sight. (You could also use a permanent marker or even nail polish to make a tiny dot on your front sight.) I have used this approach with students to great effect.

Another drill I use is to have a student draw an unloaded firearm and punch out to a two-handed, sighted fire shooting position. From there, the student is instructed to focus intently on the front sight. After approximately 30 seconds, I will have the student bring his or her gun down out of the line of sight. After several repetitions of this drill, most students seem to pick up what took me years to develop: an intense front-sight focus.

A clever drill that I picked up from National Training Concepts owner R.K. Miller is to have the shooter hold a pen and extend his arm out front. The shooter can pick a target in the distance and practice transferring his or her gaze from the tip of the pen to the target and back again. This trains the shooter’s eye to transition between the front sight and the target. It’s important to remind the shooter that when the shot breaks the focus should be on the tip of the front sight or, in this case, the tip of the pen.

Not even perfect sight alignment and sight picture can compensate for a lack of trigger control. In fact, trigger control is often cited as the most common error in shooting a handgun.

The act of manipulating the trigger has many names. Since the index finger contracts during this process, many naturally refer to trigger manipulation as “trigger pull.” However, some instructors prefer the term “trigger press” because it denotes a more precise movement. Still others use “trigger squeeze” to describe trigger manipulation because they feel the word squeeze accurately conveys the gradual pressure that should be applied to the trigger when firing.

No matter what you call it, trigger control is hugely important. Most instructors agree it’s critical that the rearward movement of your index finger be smooth and steady as it moves straight back to fire the pistol. Two of the most common trigger control problems are to anticipate the gun’s recoil—jerking the trigger—and failing to move the trigger finger independently of the rest of the hand.

Anticipating recoil tends to result in a right-handed shooter’s rounds impacting low on the target. This phenomenon is readily apparent when you engage in dry-fire practice using a pistol equipped with a laser. If, as a right-handed shooter, you jerk the trigger, the laser will slice downward and likely to the left, showing you where your live rounds would have impacted.

Failing to move the trigger finger independently is less predictable because the point of impact is dependent on the movement of the shooter’s hand when the trigger is activated. For instance if a right-handed shooter rotates his thumb clockwise during the trigger press, his rounds are likely to impact to the right. This error is often referred to as “thumbing.”

If your gun is the right size for your hand, you should be able to comfortably place the pad of your index finger on the trigger while maintaining a proper shooting grip with the bore in line with your forearm.

If your trigger manipulation isn’t spot-on, all the sight alignment in the world can’t save you. Shown are some common trigger errors and where they might be sending your bullets.

Too much finger on the trigger is likely to result in “snatching” the trigger, which will send a right-handed shooter’s rounds to the right of his or her point of aim. This occurs because the distal joint bending reflexively causes the hand and muzzle to rotate clockwise.

Too little finger on the trigger is known as “pushing” the trigger because it causes the trigger finger to push the trigger back and to the left as opposed to straight back, resulting in rounds impacting near the nine o’clock position.

Another error associated with trigger control is “heeling,” in which the shooter exerts excessive forward pressure with the heel of the hand as the weapon is fired. This will likely result in a shot group near the 12 o’clock position.

Of course, this pattern could also be the result of an improper sight alignment, where the front sight protrudes above the rear sight. Again, target diagnosis, while extremely beneficial in narrowing down the field of potential shooting errors, is not an exact science.

Trigger Reset
While the focus of this article has been on one-shot accuracy, it’s important to consider that trigger control also deals with “resetting” the trigger from shot to shot. Resetting the trigger refers to the technique of releasing the trigger only as far as necessary for the handgun to be fired again. With most pistols there is both an audible “click” and a very slight forward thrust of the trigger against your finger as it resets.

The obvious advantage to controlling trigger reset is that it affords the shooter a shorter length of pull, which minimizes the time you need to maintain proper aim, and it reduces the distance your index finger travels when activating the trigger.

How can you tell if your trigger reset skills are lacking? Aside from being able to feel that you’re not controlling the trigger, your groups will tend to widen. But there’s no way to predict where your rounds will impact because it depends on the manner in which the gun moves as you press the trigger.

As you might expect, there are myriad drills designed to improve trigger control. One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve trigger control is simply to dry fire. To really enhance your trigger control through dry fire, press the trigger rearward as far as possible without allowing the hammer to fall, then release. Moving the trigger finger back and forth in this manner, taking it to the very brink of the simulated shot breaking can really enhance your feel for the trigger of your particular handgun.

There are several ways to enhance trigger control. One good exercise is the penny drill. You should be able to dry fire a handgun with a penny on the front sight and not have the penny fall off.

Just as a pen can be used to replicate a front sight when honing your proper sight picture, a retractable pen can be used to practice trigger press and trigger reset. Simply hold the pen in your hand so the retractable button is facing away from you, as though it were the trigger of your handgun. Place the pad of your index finger on the button then slowly and smoothly press the button until it clicks, without moving any other portion of your hand.

This motion simulates pressing the trigger to the rear until the shot breaks. Retract the tip slightly then allow it to move forward until it clicks to replicate trigger reset.

Another simple and effective drill to facilitate trigger control is called the “penny drill.” Place a penny on the front sight of your unloaded handgun, then obtain proper sight alignment and sight picture. Apply steady rearward pressure to the trigger until the simulated shot breaks. If the penny is still atop your front sight, you’re as good as gold—or at least copper.

http://www.handgunsmag.com/reviews/how-to-cure-common-shooting-mistakes/

Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground Laws!

What You Must Know About Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground Laws

There’s much more to armed self-defense than carrying a gun. It’s not as fun as firing rounds at the range, but being familiar with the laws surrounding concealed carry could pay off in a serious way somewhere down the line.

This is just meant to be a quick overview to introduce you to some basic concepts. If you carry concealed, it’s well worth your time to seek out insight from an attorney that’s familiar with the laws of your particular state and community.

Castle Doctrine
This refers to the old principle that a person’s home was his or her castle. Basically, if a person is attacked at home there is no requirement to retreat.

• It’s used as a defense in court to justify the use of deadly force when attacked at home or other owned property.
• Castle Doctrine is used when the attacker had no right to be in the home, and entered without permission of the owner.
• In some states, this can also refer to a person’s vehicle or workplace.
• May also be know as “Defense of Habitation”

Duty to Retreat
In some states, citizens have what’s called a “Duty to Retreat”. This means that when attacked, a person must try to retreat and escape the attack before defending themselves. This is of course if a safe retreat is even possible.

• If a person feels threatened, they must leave the situation if at all possible and use deadly force only as a last resort.

Stand Your Ground
Many states have altered the requirement to retreat, allowing citizens to defend themselves with deadly force if they had the right to be there and were acting within the law.

• If the attacker stops the assault and attempts to flee, the defense will not cover shots fired at a retreating person.
• When the attacker also has the right to be in the location of the incident, it must be determined which person was the aggressor.
• This defense can be used regardless of where the attack took place, whether at home, in public, or at work etc…

Anyone who owns property or carries a gun for self-defense should be familiar with these laws in respect to their state. What one state considers to be self-defense, another could consider to be murder or assault.

The wording of these self-defense laws changes frequently and states review laws regularly. In order to have the most current information, review the laws for your state of residence and speak with a licensed, experienced attorney.

https://americanconcealed.com/what-you-must-know-about-castle-doctrine-and-stand-your-ground-laws/

Illinois Concealed Carry Weapons License Class

$250 - Illinois Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW/CCL) License Training Class

BRING A FRIEND AND GET $50.00 OFF

VETERANS / MILITARY QUALIFY FOR THE 1-DAY (8 HOUR) CLASS - $100

Get your Illinois Conceal Carry License... Plus get 3 other CCW's licenses FREE! (Utah CCW, Arizona CCW & Florida CCW) - together safely and legally conceal carry a handgun in over 37 States...!!!

Price: $250 (NO other class fees), 

price includes;

1. Range fees ($25)

2. Illinois Livescan digital fingerprints ($70)

3. Utah & Arizona ink fingerprints ($25)

4. Passport photos ($15)

5. CCW application paperwork 

6. Assistance with CCW application paperwork 

Class Date: February 27-28th (16 hours)

Location: VFW- Villa Park, Illinois 

331-642-8110 / www.IllinoisCC.com

Cover VS Concealment: What’s The Difference?

Nobody should ever stand out in the open and trade bullets with a bad guy.  The second rounds start coming in, it’s well advised to take up some stable amount of cover.  But what constitutes cover versus concealment and why is one more advantageous than the other?  In this article, we’ll break down what each of them mean and how they play an important part in surviving a self-defense scenario.

The scope of cover and concealment are quite extensive topics.  We’re going to focus on urban cover and concealment because many self-defense shooting scenarios occur in this setting.

Cover Or Concealment – Which Is Better For Concealed Carriers?

Right off the bat, let’s define what cover and concealment both mean.  Using publications from the United States Marine Corps, we find MCWP 3-11.1 Scouting and Patrolling is very good reference to define cover and concealment.

“Cover is protection from the fire of hostile weapons.  Concealment is the protection from observation…”

Good cover will ideally reduce the available space for an attacker to make contact with weapons (firearms or otherwise).  Materials such as steel, concrete, water, packed earth, and thick wood all make great resources for cover.

Good concealment will ideally allow you to observe your enemy without him (or her, or them) being able to readily observe you back.  Elements like foliage, netting, shadows, fabric, and non-reflective surfaces can all make for a great basis for concealment.

Your first priority in a live fire scenario is to reach proper cover.  Good cover, unfortunately, can greatly limit your visibility – but it also limits your enemy’s visibility of your position.

It is possible to combine both cover and concealment using the natural and artificial landscape elements about you.

Basic Rules For Cover

Mute anything that is reflective on your person.  Things like:

• Cellphones
• Sunglasses
• Watches
• Earrings
• Buckles (Shoes, bags, belts, etc.)
• Reflective Jackets

…can all serve to give away your position and destroy your chances of concealment.  If you have any of those items on you, ensure they are securedprior to movement in an active shooting environment.

Avoid placing yourself in high contrast with your surroundings.  For instance, if you’re wearing dark clothes and your back is against a lightly colored wall – you are extremely visible.  Conversely, wearing light colored clothes against a brick background can also work against you.  Whenever possible, observe your surroundings and attempt to choose a route that provides the most shade.  When your enemy may have a direct line of sight to your position, reduce superfluous motion to a minimum.  That means no waving arms, issuing out calls for others, or fast, erratic movements.  If you’re going to bolt – you’re deciding to abandon concealment altogether.  That’s a choice.

Concealment In An Urban Environment

In an urban environment, your main priority is going to be using buildings to limit your enemy’s field of fire.  When possible, try to avoid long, narrow corridors or exposed open ground.  Skirt along the edges of buildings, using cars and hedgerows, and any other features of the landscape to make your way out of the active shooting environment.

Fighting in an urban environment is extremely unpredictable.  While buildings can provide great cover and concealment for observing an enemy’s position, they also feature plenty of pitfalls.

Those pitfalls include:

• Limited entry and exit points
• Limited time to identify friend from foe
• Tight restrictions on rooms and hallways
• Vulnerability in movement between buildings

A great resource to learn more about urban combat is the Marine Corps publication MCWP 3-35.3 – Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain(MOUT).  While the majority of this document refers specifically to military operations, some of the advice it has when discussing movement down a street, and defensive operations (Chapter 3) are especially on point.  The biggest downside to this publication as it relates to the concealed carrier would be the reliance on having numbers, a command structure, and support – three things not likely to be arriving in time to help.

In a future article, we’ll go more into depth about cover and concealment in other types of environments and how you can use the natural terrain presented to facilitate either your escape from attackers or as an ad hoc defensive position.  Remember: the job of the concealed carrier is to preserve his own life, that of his family, and of his property.  And in so far as property is concerned, it is far better to retreat against superior numbers than it is to foolishly enter into a hostile shooting environment armed with little more than a pistol.

Would you like us to cover more in-depth topics concerning survival in an active shooting environment?  Let’s discuss it in the comments section below.

http://concealednation.org/2015/08/cover-vs-concealment-whats-the-difference/

$100 Utah, Arizona & Florida CCW Licenses Class- for Illinois residents

$100 - Utah, Florida & Arizona CCW License Class - for Illinois residents

Get three (3) non-resident Utah, Florida & Arizona CCW permits / licenses - together legally and safely conceal carry handgun(s) in over 34 States. 

Location: VFW Villa Park,  Illinois 

Date: February 27th (9AM - 1PM)

Cost: $100.00 includes (UT & AZ) fingerprints and passport photos.

331-642-8110 / www.IllinoisCC.com

The slow loss of our gun rights...

To Be a Foster Parent in Oklahoma Means Trading In Your Right To Carry a Firearm

Jan 15, 2016 | 

Apparently Oklahoma is not an advocate for using the Second Amendment to protect your foster family. They must be jumping on the “guns only cause violence” bandwagon that seems to be sweeping the nation. Via gunsamerica.com/blog

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has a strict policy when it comes to the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding foster parents that leave many with a precarious choice: go unarmed and keep the children or arm oneself and risk losing the children.

To explicate, under the state DHS’s “Weapons Safety Agreement,” foster and adoptive parents must agree to keep their weapons locked up when their not in use, to not carry their firearms if a child is present (there is an exemption if one is required to carry a gun for work, e.g. a police officer) and to keep any firearm in an automobile unloaded, disabled and stored in a locked container.

In other words, one must disarm when one’s foster children are present. One cannot carry a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense outside the home, with foster children. According to the bureaucrats that run the DHS, the two-year-old policy isn’t an undue restriction on one’s right to keep and bear arms, but a sensible way to protect the children.

“Our agency policy does not prohibit gun ownership by foster parents,” Sheree Powell, the DHS communications director, toldNewsOK. “It does, however, require reasonable safety measures to protect the children in DHS care, many of whom come from traumatic and tragic circumstances.”

Thankfully, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed a lawsuit challenging the policy on the grounds that it’s unconstitutional.

“This mandate for foster parents is not just restrictive, it’s ridiculous,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb in a press release. “Why should a foster parent be stripped of his or her right to self-defense, or their ability to defend their foster child, simply to appease some bureaucrat’s anti-gun philosophy?

“It is completely unconstitutional, and unfair,” began attorney David G. Sigale, who is representing the plaintiffs, a married couple from Moore who’ve, over the years, housed 34 foster children, “that those persons who are providing a better life and environment for children, through the State’s DHS foster care and adoption process, would have to give up the fundamental rights of self-defense and defense of family in order to do so.

Foster children don’t have the right to be protected and parents don’t have the right to protect them? How completely unconstitutional and infringing is this?!

This would also discourage people from becoming foster parents which is exactly the opposite of what needs to be happening!

This ridiculous anti-gun sentiment that has been going around needs to be stopped, guns are responsible for saving lives and preventing tragedy every day.

Our Second Amendment is vital to the freedom and safety of our country.

What people don’t realize is that guns do exceedingly more good than bad, they prove to even out the playing field for the weak against the stronger criminals. Not only the weak but for those in a disadvantage that would normally end in tragedy. They prevents victimization of the innocent.

Even if there were no guns there would be a ridiculous wave of people trying to ban an alternate weapon. There were always be criminals and murderers but it makes no sense to ban a weapon that saves more lives than it takes… And a weapon that is protected by the constitution.

Author: Annie Stonebreaker

http://defendandcarry.com/to-be-a-foster-parent-in-oklahoma-means-trading-in-your-right-to-carry-a-firearm/

The Chicago carnage and violence has been a growing problem

Chicago Had More Than 12,000 Shootings Since 2010 (MAP)

CHICAGO LAWN — When Marshall Hawkins walks around his neighborhood, he carefully picks a route based on the places where people haven't been shot.

"If there are flowers on the block, you can go there," the 38-year-old said. "If there's been police tape or gunshots, you avoid it."

Such is life for the former North Sider in his adopted Chicago Lawn neighborhood. Same for his kids, a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old.

"On days that I can't pick them up and drive them to school, I give specific directions. 'Don't take this street. Go this way. Not that way,' " Hawkins said.

One danger spot: 64th and Troy, the site of two fatal shootings since November. In a city pockmarked with gun violence, that corner stands out. But it's not alone.

Since New Year's Day 2010, there have been more than 12,000 shootings in Chicago. More than 14,000 people were hit in those shootings, including more than 2,000 who died.

DNAinfo Chicago plotted all the city's shootings and homicides on an interactive map below. Search by date, date range, neighborhood and more to see the hot spots, the clusters and the overall danger zones.

The data analyzed by DNAinfo was compiled through a combination of Freedom of Information Act requests to the Chicago Police Department and DNAinfo's own record keeping.

The total number of shootings refers to incidents in which someone was wounded by gunfire during a criminal act between Jan. 1, 2010, and July 6, 2015. It equates to about six shooting incidents per day.

Tanveer Ali discusses what surprised him while gathering the data:

Of the city's homicides, about 87 percent are caused by gun violence. Only about 70 percent of homicides nationwide are caused by guns, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Chicago, shooting numbers are reviewed three times a week at the highest levels of the Police Department, including police Supt. Garry McCarthy and Chief Robert Tracy, who oversees crime strategy in Chicago. Those two, as well as other members of the command staff, get live updates of shootings on their smartphones.

"We look at every shooting in the city," Tracy said.

For the decade so far, shootings peaked in 2012 when 2,499 shootings resulted in 2,990 people being wounded.

SEE: DNAinfo Chicago's Murder Timeline: The Human Toll

The next year saw a nearly 25 percent drop in shootings. The 1,920 shootings in 2013 were the lowest this decade.

Through the first six months of this year, shootings are up 20 percent compared to last year.

"We use it as a measuring stick of how we are improving," said freshman Ald. David Moore (17th), who represents parts of Chicago Lawn, West Englewood and Englewood.

Three of Chicago's 77 official community areas — Edison Park, Forest Glen and Mount Greenwood — haven't had an incident classified as a shooting all decade. (In December, there was a shooting in which police say an off-duty Chicago Police sergeant fatally shot a man who was pointing a gun at a Mount Greenwood bar, but that has not been classified as a shooting. The Independent Police Review Authority hasn't released the results of its investigation yet.)

On the other extreme is Austin, the city's most populous community area, and nearly every year, the one with the most shootings. Except for 2011 when West Englewood led the city, that West Side neighborhood has led the city every year in shootings since 2010, hitting a low of 145 in 2013.

Seven community areas — Austin, West Englewood, Englewood, Humboldt Park, Greater Grand Crossing, South Shore and Chicago Lawn — are the scene of about 35 percent of Chicago's shootings.

Of those seven areas, the numbers have been most volatile in Marshall Hawkins' Chicago Lawn, a Southwest Side neighborhood that includes Marquette Park. It's an area where about half the residents are African-American and the other half are Hispanic.

While Chicago Lawn doesn't lead the city in total shootings, the rise of shootings is noticeable to police and residents alike.

"The [shooting] numbers matter, of course," said Francisco Lorzornio, a social worker with the Southwest Organizing Project, a community organization. "People hear it. They see it. It's trauma. It gets dark."

The community area ranks seventh in total shootings since 2010: 555 people have been shot in 470 incidents. Of those people, 75 died.

Chicago Lawn residents view the scene of a fatal 2013 shooting near West 66th Street and South Claremont Avenue.  [DNAinfo files]

As with citywide shootings, some years are calmer than others in Chicago Lawn. In 2012, there were 110 shootings, about one every 80 hours. That year, 133 people were shot, 17 who were killed.

Last year, there were 56 shootings in the area resulting in 63 people getting shot (16, or nearly a quarter, were killed).

The numbers are going back up this year, with 45 shootings through the Fourth of July weekend, almost certain to exceed the number of shootings from last year. Everyone from police to residents has noticed the increase.

"It has gone up in that area. We have recognized it, and we are working on strategies to address it," Tracy said.

In May, the Chicago Lawn police district held its first-ever gang call-in, bringing in members of various factions for a dose of tough love.

"We tell them, if they don't heed our warnings, we will come after them," Tracy said.

Marshall Hawkins, 38, near 64th and Troy streets [DNAinfo/Tanveer Ali]

The police know even a single shooting will reverberate in the neighborhoods.

"When you take a look at some of these communities, a reduction from 10 shootings a year to five is real," Tracy said. "But the fact is there are still five shootings happening."

For residents, each shooting says something about an individual block. But elected officials like Moore point out that shootings mean something about the city as a whole, too.

"When people on the outside hear about these shootings, they don't say Chicago Lawn. They don't say Englewood," Moore said. "They say Chicago."

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150707/chicago-lawn/look-at-more-than-12000-shootings-chicago-since-2010-map

Criminal Weapons Selection

Criminal Weapon Selection 

I’ve written before about criminals and the guns they carry.  My study was obviously limited by the relatively small number of guns my upscale suburban police department seizes.  Other police departments seize far more guns than we do.

 

Currently, the Chicago Police Department seizes the largest number of firearms used in crimes.  I found this article to be incredibly interesting.  It is a complete account of all the weapons seized from criminals by the Chicago Police in 2014.  Astonishingly, they seize more than 6000 guns a year!

 

So, what kind of guns are they taking off criminals?

 

It isn’t the ones that are cheap and easy to conceal.  The brands taken most frequently were Glock, Smith and Wesson, and Ruger.  Most of these weapons are mid to full sized duty pistols.  Those handguns are not the cheap and easily concealed “Saturday Night Specials” that criminals stereotypically carry.  Dr. James Wright, in his book “Armed and Considered Dangerous” found that the criminals he studied preferred larger, more powerful, and more reliable handguns over smaller, cheaper, and more easily concealed ones.  This study supports that hypothesis.

 

If you truly analyze the statistics, it’s really not surprising.  Where do criminals get their guns?  Mostly from stealing the weapons from lawful gun owners.  What guns do lawful gun owners most often use for home protection?  You guessed it, Glock, S&W, and Ruger auto pistols.  It shouldn’t be a shock that these stolen guns are what the criminal is caught with.

 

The Chicago PD article was great.  Another excellent resource to see the guns that criminals carry is the Baltimore PD Facebook Page.  They regularly show photos of the guns they seize from criminals.  Even more interesting is the fact that they show the ammunition that was carried in the gun at the time it was seized.  Looking through a relative sample shows me that similar to my own study, criminals often carry mixed ammo types and guns that are less than fully loaded.

An example of a seized weapon post from Baltimore PD’s Facebook page.

 

One other trend I would like to mention is when criminals alter the appearance of guns to make them look like toys.  The idea is to cause police officers and armed citizens to hesitate when confronted with one of these “toy” guns.  Criminals will hide real guns inside the shell of toy guns, paint an orange tip on the barrel of their pistol, or paint the entire weapon a bright florescent color to make it appear more like a toy.

 

Take a look at the picture below.  It is a fully functional pistol gripped shotgun hidden within the shell of a super-soaker water gun.  These are the kind of modifications you should be alert for.

 

Mossberg 12 gauge seized by police.

 

Don’t think that this is some kind of “urban myth”.  Two weeks ago officers in my department were called out to investigate some suspicious people who were hanging out behind a closed business late at night.  The officers found the men seated in a car in the parking lot.  When officers checked the driver’s identity, they found he had a warrant for his arrest.

 

The officers ordered the man out of the car and he complied.  As soon as he got out, the officers saw a gun on the floor of the car where the driver had been sitting.  They arrested the driver and seized the gun.  The gun was a stolen .40 caliber Glock 22.  It was loaded with a full capacity magazine and had a loaded 31-round extended magazine as a spare.  Even more interesting is the fact that the entire gun HAD BEEN PAINTED BRIGHT LIME GREEN.  The thieves were clearly attempting to create the illusion that their .40 Glock was merely a toy.

 

The days of criminals regularly carrying junky .25 autos are over.  Today’s criminals carry full sized auto pistols and will employ every trick in the book to cause you to hesitate before shooting them.

http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/criminal-weapon-selection#.dpuf

Should the age requirement be lowered for CCW licenses?

Weigh In: Should Age Requirement for Concealed Carry Be Lowered?

Jan 8, 2016 | 

Should 18 year-olds be allowed to carry concealed?

Do the majority of responsible gun owners support a lower age for concealed carry? Here’s James England’s opinion from aliengearholsters.com blog.

There is no federal mandate on the minimum age a person needs to be to acquire a concealed carry permit. Each state has created their own age restrictions. While most states have a requirement to be 21 or older to obtain a concealed carry permit, states like New Hampshire have no clear age requirement on the books. Some states permit an 18 year old to obtain a concealed carry permit if he’s in the military. Other states, like Indiana, set the age at 18 on the nose.

I’d argue no.

And it has nothing to do with the idea that an eighteen year old can hold that sort of responsibility. It has everything to do with the mechanisms required to make that rule happen. In order for the age of concealed carry to drop to 18 across the country, it would require one of two processes:

• Federal law

• All 50 states passing legislation

He explains that it would be either federal boondoggle or state-by-state fight. Federal boondoggle would slowly kill out the support and make the whole proposed law a burden by the the time it went through House and Senate. He believes that at the end of the process there would be provisions and fixes that would take away the benefits of the law in the first place.

With the 50 states passing legislation to lower the permit age it would just explode into hubbub and ridiculous arguments for and against it.

The best way to drop the age of concealed carry down to 18 – or eliminate it altogether – would be to propose specific changes to your state’s bills. More powerful than a letter to your state representative or senator would be to find the part of your state’s law that specifies an age and ask for that specific piece to be eliminated or amended as you see fit.

Not only are you giving a concrete solution to the problem, you’re making the drafting process easier for the legislator. After all, it’s all about getting the right people into the concealed carry club.

I agree with James, it really should be left up to the state. I for one would probably support it along with training and such that goes along with it for younger people, because we do have young people going into the military that protect our country but aren’t allowed to protect themselves.

Its still a tough call, but if you have enough gun safety and education with young people it shouldn’t be a problem.

http://defendandcarry.com/weigh-in-should-age-requirement-for-concealed-carry-be-lowered/

Illinois Concealed Carry Weapons License Class

$250 - Illinois Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW/CCL) License Training Class

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VETERANS / MILITARY QUALIFY FOR THE 1-DAY (8 HOUR) CLASS - $100

Get your Illinois Conceal Carry License... Plus get 3 other CCW's licenses FREE! (Utah CCW, Arizona CCW & Florida CCW) - together safely and legally conceal carry a handgun in over 37 States...!!!

Price: $250 (NO other class fees), 

price includes;

1. Range fees ($25)

2. Illinois Livescan digital fingerprints ($70)

3. Utah & Arizona ink fingerprints ($25)

4. Passport photos ($15)

5. CCW application paperwork 

6. Assistance with CCW application paperwork 

Class Date: February 27-28th (16 hours)

Location: VFW- Villa Park, Illinois 

331-642-8110 / www.IllinoisCC.com

3 commonly misused gun terms...does it matter?

3 Commonly Misused Gun Terms – Is It a Big Deal?

Aug 14, 2015 

Commonly Misused Gun terms everybody should understand

Before You Get Your Opinion Out On This Lets’s Look At Some Facts

Gun safety begins with good communication.  As such, often times people may not understand the distinct differences between the gun terms people use.  Certainly, media outlets are notorious for using incorrect gun terminology to describe an incident or accident.  This is why we’re going to clarify some important terms and break down what they actually mean.

Magazine vs. Clip

People get beaten up all the time about this term.  

Because the term “clip” has been around arguably longer than magazine, it tends to get thrown around to refer to the same thing.  Is it technically incorrect?  Depends on the weapon you’re referring to.

A quick illustration of the difference would be the M1 Garand or traditional SKS and an AR-15.

An AR-15 has a detachable magazine which is inserted into the magazine well.  An M1 Garand has a clip – or open-faced magazine (non-enclosed) – of bullets fed into its fixed magazine well.  And an SKS uses a stripper clip to load ammunition into its fixed magazine well.

General rule of thumb: clips are used to load magazines.  Magazines can either be detachable (AR-15) or fixed (M1 Garand, SKS, etc.).

Now, it’s not necessary that the magazine or clip stays put after a cycle of fire has been completed.  It is a common feature of magazine-fed firearms to retain the magazine until it is released by the gunman.

Assault Weapon vs. Assault Rifles & Semi-Automatic Rifles

A weapon is anything that can be used to inflict bodily harm, injury, or death upon another living thing.  That is literally the definition of a weapon.  So the concept of an “assault weapon” is redundant.  Every weapon is theoretically an “assault weapon” – once it’s used in an assault.

An assault rifle refers to a class of rifles that have selective fire mechanisms for switching between semi-automatic firing (one trigger pull, one bullet fired) and burst or automatic modes.  By helping to define those selective fire modes, we’ll inevitably discover the reason why semi-automatic weapons are not necessarily assault rifles and tying those two terms together is a bit arbitrary.

• Non-semi-automatic One trigger pull results in one bullet fired but in order to fire another, a firing mechanism must be reset (i.e. “bolt charged to the front” or “hammer pulled to the rear”, etc.).
  • Example:  US Navy Colt single-action revolver or M1917 Lee-Enfield Rifle.

• Semi-automatic – One trigger pull per bullet fired.
  • Example:  M1 Garand – Capable of discharging one bullet per trigger pull and no more.

• Burst – Automatic selective fire mechanism that discharges two or more bullets per trigger pull.  If the trigger is held down, though, it will not continue to fire.
  • Example:  M16A2 (Assault Rifle) – “Burst” will discharge three rounds per trigger pull.

• Automatic – Holding down the trigger will discharge ammunition at a cyclic rate of fire until ammunition runs out or the weapon overheats.
  • Example:  AK-47 (Assault Rifle) – When placed on ‘auto’, press and hold the trigger to cycle through all available rounds.

Pistols, Handguns, Revolvers vs. Semi-Auto

A handgun is the broadest of all classifications in this group.  It can be defined as any firearm that is hand-carried with no supporting stock.  Whether it’s fed by a cylinder – making it a revolver – or a magazine – making it a pistol – is a descriptor which then further defines it.

• Handgun – a hand-held firearm
• Revolver – Cylinder fed, single or double action, handgun.  Available in either semi-automatic (“double action”) or single-action.
• Pistol – Magazine-fed handgun.  Commonly only available in semi-automatic variants with some automatics.

To the experienced concealed carrier or firearms enthusiast, the term “semi-auto” doesn’t mean anything other than one trigger pull per bullet.  There are semi-automatic revolvers – double-action, usually.  For the remainder of pistols out on the market, it’s exceedingly difficult to find a non-semi-automatic pistol.  Why?  Because to fall out of the semi-automatic category, the pistol would have to require a cocking mechanism to discharge a second round or conversely, be fully automatic.  The practicality of either of these composes an extremely small share of the market.  That’s why gun manufacturers don’t spend too much time on them.  They’re novelties.

Have you heard any other terms that are commonly bungled by gun enthusiasts?  

Tell us about them in the comments section below.

http://defendandcarry.com/misused-gun-terms-is-it-a-big-deal/