Well, it's bow season and I'm ready. I won't be out tomorrow for opening weekend because I have a fun family range day planned, but I will be out next week in the mornings when I get off of work.

I'm looking forward to a great hunting season this year as Pam will be hunting with me. It's great when you can get the family together for a day in the woods. 

I hope to have a great season and hope all of y'all do too. Later y'all.

Open Carry Kid's Book A Sensation - WZTV FOX 17

Open Carry Kid's Book A Sensation - WZTV FOX 17:



Open Carry Kid's Book A Sensation (CNN) -- A children's book about gun rights has benefited from an unexpected boost in sales after it became the subject of a mocking segment on "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week. "My Parents Open Carry" is the story of a typical Saturday for 13-year-old Brenna Strong, running errands with her parents while they carry handguns in plain sight, or "open carry." "If you open carry and have a difficult time explaining why to your family and friends, or if you want to learn about the open carry of a handgun, or if you've wondered if open carry is right for you, then this book is what you need," is how the book's website sums up the plot. Published by White Feather Press, the book was made available in 2012 on limited release and picked up by Amazon in February of this year. SEE ALSO: East Nashville Man Shows Dislike for New Home Construction with Cans Its appearance on "Real Time" on August 1 increased sales dramatically, with orders pouring in, according to White Feather Press founder Skip Coryell. "Sales were weak for the first few years," Coryell said. "But after it was trashed on the show, sales have gone up." "It happened overnight," he said. "Took me by surprise as a publisher." The book was featured on the "New Rules" portion of Maher's show, during which Maher commented on the book's cover illustration, asking "if mom and dad are both safe because they're packing, why are they using their daughter as a human shield?" Open carry has been a hot topic of conversation with several state legislatures debating its merits. Georgia recently passed legislation that allows gun owners to openly bear firearms in public places, such as bars, schools and churches. On Amazon, "My Parents Open Carry" has a total of 115 reviews. All but 11 of them are one-star or five-stars, and many of the reviews have been posted in days following the show. Most of the reviewers admit to not having read the book. Some say they have, though, such as "Ken," who posted a five-star review on August 5: "I did purchase the book and found it to be very helpful to my daughter. She was able to easily relate to the characters and apply their situation to our family. I would recommend this book to anyone that carries a firearm with kids ages 5-10." The authors, Brian Jeffs and Nathan Nephew, are founders of the nonprofit group Michigan Open Carry, Inc. When they started the group in 2009, Jeffs said that it wasn't widely known what open carry was, or that it was legal in the state. "Our organization provided educational materials and seminars on the legality of open carry," Jeffs said. "We answered many of the same questions over and over as well as debunked the myths surrounding the practice." Jeffs decided that they should write a book answering the most common questions they got about open carry. "Since so many books were for adults, I thought a nice change would be a kid's book." As expected, the reactions to the book have been mixed, and Jeffs said he's gotten death threat e-mails from anti-gun critics. Despite the threats, the authors already have plans to write a sequel to the book, and Nephew is working on an outline. According to the book's website, the illustrator, Lorna Bergman, is also from Michigan, and enjoys deer hunting and shooting. "While we strongly support providing children with information that will protect them from gun violence, this book crosses the line from information into the realm of indoctrination," a representative from Parents Against Gun Violence told CNN in an e-mail. "We welcome material that makes children safer from gun violence, but this book is not it." Would you buy "My Parents Open Carry" for your children? Share your take in the comments section below.

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This sign in your front yard will do more for your home security than anything else |

This sign in your front yard will do more for your home security than anything else |:

This reminds me of the video that James O’Keefe made of him and his colleagues posing as an anti-gun group.  They asked people to put “Gun Free” signs in their front yard. Even the most hardcore gun control supporters refused to do so. Why? Because deep down everybody knows that criminals want easy targets, and responsible citizens carrying guns are a criminal’s worst nightmare.

Thomas Sowell has some wise words on gun control:

The dirty little secret is that gun-control laws do not actually control guns. They disarm law-abiding citizens, making them more vulnerable to criminals, who remain armed in disregard of such laws. In England, armed crimes skyrocketed as legal gun ownership almost vanished under increasingly severe gun-control laws in the late 20th century. (See the book Guns and Violence by Joyce Lee Malcolm.) But gun control has become one of those fact-free crusades, based on assumptions, emotions, and rhetoric.

What almost no one talks about is that guns are used to defend lives as well as to take lives. In fact, many of the horrific killings that we see in the media were brought to an end when someone else with a gun showed up and put a stop to the slaughter. The Cato Institute estimates that there are upwards of 100,000 defensive uses of guns per year. Preventing law-abiding citizens from defending themselves can cost far more lives than are lost in the shooting episodes that the media publicize. The lives saved by guns are no less precious just because the media pay no attention to them.

Many people who have never fired a gun in their lives and never faced life-threatening dangers nevertheless feel qualified to impose legal restrictions that can be fatal to others. And politicians eager to “do something” that gets them publicity know that the votes of the ignorant and the gullible are still votes.

NRA-ILA | Beretta Leaves Maryland Finds Welcome Reception in Tennessee

NRA-ILA | Beretta Leaves Maryland Finds Welcome Reception in Tennessee

The large-scale exodus of gun manufacturers from states inhospitable to the Second Amendment continued this week, with Beretta USA announcing that it would be moving its Maryland operation to Gallatin, Tennessee. In doing so, Beretta joins firearms and firearm parts manufacturers such as Remington, Kahr Arms, PTR Industries, Sturm, Ruger & Company, and Magpul Industries, all of which have either quit states hostile to gun owners, or chosen to expand their operations in more friendly locales. Beretta's move is poised to cost the so-called "Free State" millions in investment and 160 jobs.

In early 2013, as a raft of anti-gun legislation was making its way through the Maryland General Assembly, Beretta warned that it might relocate if these restrictions were enacted. At the time, Beretta's general counsel, Jeffrey Reh, was quoted in the Washington Post as stating, "Why expand in a place where the people who built the gun couldn't buy it?" Further, in discussing with the Post a 2013 visit to the Maryland facility by the firm's patriarch, Ugo Gussalli Beretta, Reh told the paper, "All I can tell you is, Mr. Beretta said, 'There always seems to be a problem with Maryland.'"

Around the same time, State Delegate Anthony J. O'Donnell lamented to Fox News, "We are pushing a legitimate manufacturer and good neighbor out of Maryland... Losing them would be a big disappointment. Maryland has a reputation for having a horrible business climate, and this would be one more nail in the coffin."

On May 15, 2013, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) chose to ignore Beretta's warnings and signed S.B. 281 into law, with the measure taking effect October 1, 2013. The law bans several types of semi-automatic firearms and magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds, and put in place burdensome and redundant licensing requirements for all handgun purchasers.

In a statement released Tuesday, General Manager for Beretta USA, Jeff Cooper, made clear the company's reasons for leaving Maryland:

During the legislative session in Maryland that resulted in passage of the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, the version of the statute that passed the Maryland Senate would have prohibited Beretta U.S.A. from being able to manufacture, store or even import into the State products that we sell to customers throughout the United States and around the world.  While we were able in the Maryland House of Delegates to reverse some of those obstructive provisions, the possibility that such restrictions might be reinstated in the future leaves us very worried about the wisdom of maintaining a firearm manufacturing factory in the State…

While we had originally planned to use the Tennessee facility for new equipment and for production of new product lines only, we have decided that it is more prudent from the point of view of our future welfare to move the Maryland production lines in their entirety to the new Tennessee facility.

Reaction to the news was swift. Maryland Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Larry Hogan released a statement blaming O'Malley for the move, noting, "I am saddened to learn that the hard working women and men I met at Beretta's factory in Accokeek in May will now lose their jobs as a direct result of the O'Malley-Brown administration's high taxes and punitive regulations." Delegate Nicholaus R. Kipke also criticized the O'Malley administration, tellingBaltimore's CBS affiliate, "Governor O'Malley and Lieutenant Governor Brown are responsible for these jobs leaving our state." In discussing Maryland's recent gun control law, Kipke added, "It's still a major problem. This bill did nothing to address it, and as a consequence, we've lost a major employer here in our state." Additionally, Delegate Michael J. Hough told the Baltimore Sun of the gun maker's decision, "I'm not surprised. If you combine our anti-gun laws with our high taxes, Beretta is just one of many businesses that have fled the state."

Gun owners can draw encouragement from the fact that so many corporate citizens in the gun industry are willing to vote with their feet when state legislatures pass laws targeting their products and lawful customers. Beretta is not alone among Maryland residents, moreover, in its desire to seek greener pastures. In a recent Gallup Poll, 47% of Maryland residents said that, given the opportunity, they would like to move to another state. This was the third highest percentage in the nation. (While the poll did not asked respondents to specify the reasons for their choices, other states that are hostile to the right to keep and bear arms and are losing businesses and jobs as a result fared poorly in the survey as well.)

Gun control adherents base their ideology largely on magical or wishful thinking. They believe that restrictions aimed and enforced squarely against peaceful, law-abiding citizens will somehow cause hardened or deranged criminals – the chief perpetrators of firearm violence – to disarm or abandon brutality. Yet the more predictable effect of these laws is to give the non-compliant criminals an advantage over their compliant victims. Increasingly, the laws are also giving other states business opportunities and economic advantages as well.

Whether any of these realities will eventually sway the persistent anti-gun ideologies that permeate certain parts of the country remain to be seen. If not, pro-gun residents and businesses of those regions will undoubtedly take Gov. Martin O'Malley's reaction to the Beretta news to heart. O'Malley dismissively noted that "it's a free country." He's certainly right that residents are free to express their preferences by where they choose to reside and do business.

Grandmothers get robbed, start gun group

AURORA – Grandmothers Konnie Couch and Robin Willoughby, 52 and 57, from Aurora in Dearborn County sit next to each other in matching pink shirts and chat about their businesses, grandchildren, illnesses. And their guns.

Both women have concealed carry licenses and carry their handguns with them at all times. And they know how to use them.

Couch and Willoughby are the founders of a new local group, Women Armed and Ready, or WAR. After both women were robbed around 2011, they decided they were tired of being victims and didn't want to see others go through what they did. After two years of development, they held their first meeting May 6.

"The thing of it is, bad things happen to good people all the time, and, if something bad is going to happen, it's gonna happen without warning," Couch said. "It's gonna be very quick, and you've gotta be prepared for it."

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Members of the 'Women Armed and Ready' gun club take target practice at the Laughery Valley Fish and Game Shooting Range in Versailles. The new club was started by Konnie Couch and Robin Willoughby in May. Giving instruction are Dale Reatherford, owner of Whitewater Valley Firearms Training and part-time Springdale police officer, left, and Brandon Vornauf, one of the firearms trainers. Barb Maness, 75, second from left, uses a Ruger LCP .380. She has her Indiana concealed-carry license and is getting her Florida concealed-carry license to allow her to carry in additional states. She said she wanted to learn to shoot for safety reasons after her husband passed away three years ago. She lives in rural Indiana. She said, "I've been shooting for about two years. I'm surprised at how accurate I am." (Photo: The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour)Buy Photo

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Gun ownership among women is on the rise. A 2013 Gallup poll revealed that 15 percent of gun owners are women, up from 13 percent in 2005. Indiana alone has issued 123,536 firearms licenses to women in the first quarter of 2014. (Ohio and Kentucky don't break down concealed carry permits by gender.) There are numerous female gun groups nationally, including Armed Females of America, Women & Gunsand the Well Armed Woman.

Cincinnati is home to two chapters of the Well Armed Woman, one in Newtown andone in Fairfield. There is also a local group based in Cincinnati called Shooting Sirens, which was founded in 2011 by Erin Cooper. The group is still establishing itself at a range and finding a regular meeting time.

Confident can be careless: 'I want you to be competent'

"(Our main objective is) to get women trained and where, if they have to ... they would be able to react and save themselves. Or at least make a very valiant attempt to save themselves," Couch said.

The three main goals of the group: education, training and competence.

"I don't want you to be confident in what you do," Couch tells members of WAR during a meeting July 8. "When you're confident, you're careless. I want you to be competent."

There are 35 registered members of WAR, though Willoughby said "we've never had less than 40 at a meeting," with an age range of 50 to 81.

All members have their concealed carry licenses.

The women get their licenses online from the state of Florida, since Florida licenses are accepted in 34 states, including Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Indiana licenses are not accepted in Ohio.

The group meets twice a month and tries to divide its time between speaker-led classes at Big Daddy's BBQ – owned by Willoughby – and practice time at the Laughery Valley Fish and Game shooting range in Versailles, Indiana.

Dale Reatherford, 62, is a Springdale police officer who frequently attends WAR meetings. He has taught concealed carry classes for the past five years and often leads both class and range time for WAR.

"We want to make sure (the members) know all the laws. ... Knowledge and skill (are) what's going to keep you out of trouble. So we're going to make sure they understand all the laws and then the basic safe handling of a handgun," Reatherford said.

The women primarily focus on stationary shooting when they are out on the range, but they hope soon to start to work on tactical shooting. Stationary shooting involves firing at a target that isn't moving, while tactical shooting involves moving targets and simulates real-life scenarios.

"Just because you carry a gun doesn't make you Annie Oakley," Couch said. "If you draw that firearm, there is a chance you are going to kill somebody."

In an effort to be well rounded, Couch and Willoughby have tried to bring in a wide array of speakers, including Michael Krienhop, Dearborn County sheriff; Aaron Negangard, prosecutor for Dearborn and Ohio counties; state Rep. Jud McMillin, a Brookville Republican; and a representative from the NRA.

The women of WAR joined the group for several reasons. Some are just looking for protection.

Barb Maness has been widowed for three years and lives in a secluded area. "My gun is the answer to anybody who thinks I'm an old lady living alone," she said.

Others are there because they want to stop being victims. Connie, who declined to give her last name, said she joined to overcome her fear of guns. She said her ex-husband would put a gun to her head as a form of manipulation, and she was done being afraid. Other women told similar stories of abuse.

Police chief says of WAR: 'I think it's a good thing.'

The Aurora Police Department fully supports what these women are trying to accomplish.

"I think it's a good thing," said Chief Josh Daugherty. "They're meeting and actively discussing safety issues."

While Daugherty says Aurora is a safe community, violent crime in nearby metropolises, such as Cincinnati, is slightly up from previous years, according to 2013 FBI statistics.

"Any community, no matter how safe, is going to have crime," said Daugherty. "Being aware of your surroundings and discussing that isn't a bad idea."

The women of WAR have a bond that goes deeper than twice monthly meetings. Couch and Willoughby remind their members that WAR is also "a support group," and they encourage the women to call them if they need a shoulder to cry on or need some time on the range.

In an effort to further their mission to empower women to protect themselves, WAR is hosting a self-defense class at 10 a.m. Saturday open to the public.

The class will be taught by Jim Byard, a former Transportation Security Administration officer who has studied self-defense for several years and is involved with WAR. The class is geared primarily toward women who are entering the workforce or going off to college, but Byard encourages anyone who is interested to attend. His class will cover street smarts, rape and basic survival tactics.

"We don't have to be that victim. We don't have to be that statistic," Couch reminded her members.

The founder and retired director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, Toby Hoover, is wary of groups like this.

"If people are just getting together to make a group to get guns with no training or knowledge of laws, that's dangerous. (Getting guns for self-protection) just isn't working. It doesn't work anywhere." ■

For more information, visit WAR's Facebook page or contact Couch and Willoughby at womenarmedandready@gmail.com.

NRA-ILA | Friends Indeed 22 State Attorneys General Join Pro Second Amendment Brief in SAFE Act Appeal

NRA-ILA | Friends Indeed 22 State Attorneys General Join Pro Second Amendment Brief in SAFE Act Appeal:

 "Amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs have been filed in Nojay v. Cuomo, the appeal from the decision of Judge William Skretny last year that largely upheld New York’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (“SAFE”) Act.  The plaintiffs challenged bans on large-capacity magazines and “assault weapons” (as redefined), the requirement that magazines contain no more than seven rounds, and new rules on ammunition sales, as unconstitutional.  After Judge Skretnty denied most of these claims, the case (decided as New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Cuomo) was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Attorneys General for 22 states – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming – have filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs.

In contrast, the chief legal officers for only nine states (plus D.C.) – Maryland, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Oregon – have opted to support the SAFE Act through their own amicus filing.  Predictably, many of these jurisdictions have gun laws that similarly restrict or ban "assault weapons" and “large capacity” magazines.  The ends-driven argument in support of the SAFE Act is that the “absolutist reading of the Second Amendment advanced by the plaintiffs” threatens to “tie the hands of states in responding” to threats to public safety.  Yet the plaintiffs simply assert that the outright ban of firearms commonly used for lawful purposes by law-abiding citizens burdens the fundamental right to keep and bear arms and should be subject to the highest level of court review in accordance with constitutional law.

Amicus briefs supporting the plaintiffs’ arguments have also been filed by the National Rifle Association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc., the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, the Law Enforcement Action Network, and the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, among others.

The NRA brief argues that laws like the SAFE Act, that prohibit the possession of firearms in the homes of law-abiding citizens where “Second Amendment guarantees are at their zenith,” must be subject to the highest standard of constitutional review:  strict scrutiny.  It adds that the “social science” evidence regarding the SAFE Act’s supposed public safety benefits, which was heavily relied on in Judge Skretny’s opinion, is clearly an insufficient foundation for the court’s conclusions when analyzed critically and carefully.  For example, one expert in the case admitted that state-level restrictions on firearms and magazines did not have an impact on crime, contrary to the “links” the court drew between the evidentiary record, the SAFE Act prohibitions, and the impact on public safety.

The appellate case has yet to be heard, but among those states that have weighed in on it, the clear weight of opinion is against the constitutionality of the SAFE Act.  Upon a fair and impartial hearing, that view should also prevail in the Second Circuit."



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NRA-ILA | The Show Me State Shows the Way to Safeguard Fundamental Rights

NRA-ILA | The Show Me State Shows the Way to Safeguard Fundamental Rights

concealednation.org

Posted by Brandon on 08/05/2014

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but someone was able to get a gun in Brooklyn and use it to commit a crime. This is in direct contradiction to the current laws that are on the books that make it next to impossible for anyone to carry a pistol.

Sarcasm aside, this shooting happened this past Friday in Brooklyn and police are still searching for the suspect. The person who was shot wound up in the hospital, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Cops say the incident happened just after 8 p.m. on Friday in the vicinity of Moffat Street and Wilson Avenue, as the suspect approached a 24-year-old man and shot him in the left leg and lower back.

The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition; despite shooting him at close range, he survived his injuries. A five-year-old girl on a tricycle (not seen in the video) was unharmed.

This much is known; he’s lucky to be alive after being shot at such a close range. Luckily for the general public, criminals are usually lousy shots.

concealednation.org

concealednation.org

Posted by Maureen on 08/08/2014

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about smaller restaurant chains welcoming gun owners into their businesses.  Although many larger national chains such as Chili’s Grill and Bar, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Starbucks, and Sonic are prohibiting guns (or asking customers to leave them at home), many independent restaurants are particularly welcoming to armed patrons, whether in a concealed or open manner.  Some restaurants post signs saying that guns are welcome, while others even offer discounts to customers who arrive armed.

Sharma Floyd, the owner of Shiloh Brew and Chew in Maryville, Tennessee, hung a small sign in the window of her restaurant informing customers that guns are welcome on the premises.  Subsequently, a local news team reported a story on the restaurant owner’s policy, which then caused a spike in business, predominantly due to the influx of clientele who carry concealed weapons.  Floyd says, “I believe in the right to bear arms, and as a small business owner, who am I to take it away?”

However naturally, not everyone is on board with this new approach.  In 2013, Starbucks asked its customers not to bring guns into over 12,000 of their United States locations.  Shortly after, Chili’s, Chipotle, and Sonic followed Starbucks’ request.  Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America says, “Restaurants routinely protect their patrons from second-hand smoke, so it makes sense they would go out of their way to protect them from bullets as well.”

The restaurants that have invited armed customers into their place of business have reported very few problems involving firearms.  Jay Laze, owner of All Around Pizza and Deli says, “Most that come in are responsible and have their guns holstered.  It was good for business, and I’ve hopefully educated some folks on the Second Amendment and the right to carry.”  Bryan Crosswhite, the owner of The Cajun Experience, made a point to say that he will not serve alcohol to customers who are openly carrying.

And of course owners may expect to see customers deliberately bringing excessive firearms to show off.  “I had a guy show up with an AR-15,” he said. “I told him to go home.”

There have been people in the past who are directly responsible for certain statements issued by companies regarding the carrying of firearms while in their establishments. If these companies aren’t held with their backs against the wall, they would have no reason to issue these types of statements.

Concealed Carry Up 130%, Violent Crime & Murder Down 22% Since 2007. - Bearing Arms

Concealed Carry Up 130%, Violent Crime & Murder Down 22% Since 2007. - Bearing Arms:



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Just the Facts

According to the 2012 U.S. census, the population of the U.S. is 313.9 million people.
According to the most recent Bureau of Justice prison census, 3.2% or, 10,044,800 are under some form of correctional control, ie: prison, jail, parole or probation.
Of those, about 70%, or 7,031,360 are repeat offenders.
Let that sink in.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which handles that registration, there were more than 3.1 million National Firearms Act-registered weapons in the U.S. as of March 2012. The U.S. has the best-armed civilian population in the world, with an estimated 270 million total guns. That’s an average of 89 firearms for every 100 residents. That means that a criminal has an average of an 11% chance of encountering an unarmed citizen. Not very good odds for them, I'd say.
The gun control advocates say more guns cause more crime. I'd say, based on these published, national statistics, there is no proof or basis for their claims.
These numbers are why I chose to be proactive in protecting my family and myself. Be a part of the majority and protect yourself and your loved ones. Take a class and get your permit. If you're local, call Tim Guy at Guy Personal Defense and schedule your class.
To use a quote a friend likes to use:
"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.-Confucius"