“Justifiable Homicide” is the legal term for a lawful self-defense incident resulting in the death of a violent criminal.  The tragedy is that before 2005, good people in Florida were going to jail for a minimum of 20 years for defending themselves and their families from life threatening criminal attacks.

I spent a LONG time on the phone with her answering a slew of questions.  I told her…

• That the PF9 is popular as a self-defense handgun commonly carried by private citizens.
• That the PF9 is popular with police officers as a backup and off-duty gun.
• That it is very popular in Florida and the hotter states where the mercury can sore and clothes are generally lighter than in other places.
• That Kel-Tec is a popular maker of good quality firearms based here in Florida.
• That I own a PF9 and carry it regularly.
• That the PF9′s price is about average for a quality firearm of that type.
• That the PF9 is not a police duty gun, not a target pistol, and not made for hunting.
• That the PF9 is a self-defense firearm designed for concealed carry.
• That a 5 pound trigger is about average for a defensive handgun.
• That the PF9 has a very long trigger pull.
• That the 9mm round is generally considered by many to be the minimum acceptable caliber for self defense, and then only when used with modern defensive ammo.
• That hollow point bullets are the responsible choice of ammo for self-defense due to its reduced propensity for over penetration and ricochet.
• That the 7+ 1 capacity of the PF9 is lower than most 9mm pistols due to the single stack mag necessitated by its slim profile.
• That every law enforcement agency that I know of on the planet uses hollow points mainly due to the aforementioned safety concerns.
• That over penetration and ricochet are dangerous to property and others.
• That hollow points are designed to expand so that their energy is dissipated in the target and the bullet does not continue dangerously out of the target.
• That carrying with a round in the chamber is normal and generally highly recommended.
• etc…

I even invited her to come out to the range and shoot a gun so she that could actually hold one in her hand and learn about it.  She told me about reports that Zimmerman had purchased the handgun after an incident with a Pitbull.  I told here about my two Pitt mixed pups who love peanut butter and belly rubs.

After all of that, she prints this:

“It is not a police-duty gun. It is not a target pistol. It is not made for hunting,” said Sean Caranna, executive director of Florida Carry, a nonprofit group that lobbies for the right of gun owners to carry sidearms in the open. “It is a self-defense firearm.”

Translation: It’s designed to shoot people at short range.

 and that

It’s not clear what kind of ammunition Zimmerman used, but Caranna said the most popular for that type of gun is hollow-point bullets. They are designed to expand once they hit a target and do more tissue damage.

When I said “It is a self-defense firearm”, I said what I meant.  The author’s speculative translation is disingenuous.  It’s nothing but inflammatory language calculated to create negative imagery in the mind of the reader.

Some information suggests that you are much more likely to use a gun in self-defense against an animal than a human.

The second time Rene Stutzman quotes me for this story she again uses inflammatory language again to create imagery about hollow point ammunition.  I explained to her that the use of non-hollow point ammunition could be irresponsible and dangerous.  Hollow point rounds are mandated for use by most police departments due to their reduced propensity for over-penetration and ricochet.

Many consider 9mm the minimum caliber for effective self-defense; and then only when using modern, high quality, defensive hollow point ammo. Non-hollow point 9mm ammo is widely known for over-penetration. Expansion creates a larger surface area to help dissipate the projectile’s kinetic energy onto the target rapidly. The tip cavity of the round also deforms in case of an off-center hit on hard media like metal, rock, or pavement. This helps to prevent ricochet. She asked me about hollow points, at no time did I speculate about what kind of ammo Zimmerman used.  I did say that they are a popular choice and what any responsible and well informed person should be carrying in that type of gun.

These design features of hollow point bullets make them the responsible choice for use in a defensive handgun.  During a defensive gun use you want your rounds stay where you put them and not to tend to ricochet off or completely penetrate to go on and hit unintended property or people. You also want effective rounds that you can expect to stop your target from doing whatever it was that made you have to shoot it in the first place.

This being the case, my requirements for how I setup my personal rifle now should be expected to be drastically changed from my ideal setup as a warfighter. But are they?

There were five main types of rifle I carried in the Army. Two of those were belt-fed machine guns. The M60/M240b Crew Served MGs and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. A third type, the sub-MG, was represented by the 9mm MP5 and .45ACP Grease Gun. These first three types are really speciality guns. They’re not all that useful for the self-defense, hunting, and competitive shooting I can see myself engaging in now.  Fun to shoot but expensive to purchase and feed.  These aren’t really what I’m looking for now.

The last two are more practical for my needs. The heavy caliber long-range rifles like the M24 and M14 and the shorter range but more versatile rifleman’s M16 and M4 rifles.

While I must admit that my first inclination was to get a Remington 700 in .300 Win Mag and build up my own version of an M24, I can’t ignore that I am far more experienced and skillful with the M16. The M16 is also more useful for hunkerin’ down after a hurricane should that happen to me yet again.

The what finally tipped the scales in favor of the AR15 was gun-hater rhotic against the “evil black assault rifle with its mass murder clip”. The goggles do nothing folks. The stupidity for these anti-rights zealots still burns.

Not being tied to the military supply system means that I have more choices for accessories, parts, optics, ammo, and other stuff than could be listed on the expansive menu at SuperWok.  It also means that it comes out of my wallet, not yours. (Thank you for spending your tax dollars to make me a better shooter.)

Reliability is still paramount. It doesn’t matter if you are faced with a coyote, alligator, boar, or even a two-legged varmint; if the rifle goes click rather than bang when you squeeze the trigger, very bad things can happen to you.

Ruggedness is closely related to reliability but there are factors that distinguish the two for one another. In the army I used my rifle-stock to break my fall as I dove into the dirt many thousands of times. We used rifles as splints, chairs, pry bars, sledge hammers, clubs, walking sticks, pikes, exercise equipment, and even to occasionally launch rounds down-range. I have no plans to abuse my civilian rifle regularly in similar fashion. That said, I will still occasionally bang my rifle in to a tree, knock it around, and yes… drop it. Parts that can’t take a pounding have no place on my weapon but there are some places where I can accept something less than infantry-proofed durability to reduce costs or add practical functionality.

Functionality is a key factor but this is another place where the military mission and my personal mission have subtitle differences. For example, I’m not going to have to use night vision compatible sights or parts that put off a neutral I/R signature. I don’t need the ability to mount a grenade launcher or even a bayonet. The ability to switch a few components to change calibers is a huge plus for a civilian AR.  The .300 AAC Blackout uppers are looking quite interesting especially if I get a can later.  Like the military M16, the AR15 can easily interchange optics between iron sights, non-magnified reflex/red dot sights like the AimPoint, low power magnified optics like the ACOG, and higher powered precision scopes.

Accuracy requirements are also similar to an extent that a short to mid-range rifle should be 1.5 MOA or better to allow for lethal accuracy from 300 to 600 meters.  Around 300 meters the decision to use magnified optics really becomes a no-brainer.

Squirrel!

Umm, here’s the link:  http://fallacytrue.blogspot.com/

I am a Veteran Army Infantry Rifleman.  With this rifle in my hands I can accurately and efficiently engage and defeat targets, using only iron sights, out to at least 500 meters in any direction.  Why on earth would I not choose a weapon that I have trained so extensively on?

I have carried this type of rifle in combat on three continents.  Why on earth would I not choose a weapon that has always brought me home in the past?

I have striped down, maintained, and repaired M16s more times than I can count.  I’m an Army qualified M16 armorer.  Why on earth would I not choose a weapon that I know so well?

Also, I can’t afford the only other firearm that I can say the same things for, an M60 Machine Gun…

My lovely and understanding wife has allocated some $$$ to me to use in procuring the item of my choice so long as I ask for nothing else expensive this year. I was going to get a very benign hunting rifle.  But this: “Sharp as a Marble – The end game“. Could not go unanswered.

I am a veteran who has protected you in battles on foreign shores, a man who wants only to protect himself, a husband who has vowed do everything in his power to keep his family free of the violence perpetrated by criminals, and (most importantly) I am a human with a fundamental right to live…

So, to the freedom hating freaks that seek to disarm me; I say this: “You’ve just talked me in to it.”  I’m going to get the baddest looking, full auto and/or sound suppressed firearm that I can lay my hands on.  Just so I can piss off the gun haters.  Don’t like it?

Come and take it!

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. (No I can’t afford an M60 right now).

So after reading through this I looked back at those editorials we wrote a few weeks ago.  The social media numbers for each story, published the same day, jumped out at me.

Sen. Smith, Here’s your sign:

As the paper did, I’ll give the Honorable Senator top billing here:

Should Florida change its self-defense law? Yes: State courts reputation as dangerous ground
BY SEN. CHRIS SMITH, D-FORT LAUDERDALE

vs.

Should Florida change its self-defense law? No: People have the right to defend themselves
BY SEAN CARANNA, PORT ORANGE

That’s right Anti-Second Amendment politicians…
Nobody likes you! 

On October 3rd, 2011 Florida Carry, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the University of North Florida (UNF), seeking a permanent injunction to stop the university from enforcing its unlawful ban on firearms and other defensive weapons. We also asked for a court order to repeal their unlawful regulations and remove all preempted signs/publications. Since 1987 the Florida Legislature has preempted firearms law and issued statewide licenses to carry for self-defense. Since 1985 it has been legal for adults to securely store firearms in their cars, even without a state license, on college campuses.

Florida Carry filed this case on behalf of Florida Gun Owners and our members. One such member, Alexandria Lainez, is a single mother who has received extensive training in firearms and self-defense to be prepared to protect herself and her young child should that horrible need arise. Alexandria is a full time student at UNF and worries that she has to choose between her family’s safety and her education on a daily basis while attending college.

On November 11th, 2011 we filed for a Temporary Injunction to protect students’ Right to Bear Arms in their own vehicles, as recognized under Florida law, while the case is pending. After months of waiting for a ruling, we notified the court that this issue should be treated as a priority case. Florida Circuit Court Judge Lawrence P. Haddock immediately issued an order that was published April 4th, 2012. He simply signed the defense’s suggested draft order denying the injunction and then dismissing the case.

Judge Haddock’s woefully under-considered ruling effectively held that Florida colleges, universities, and private corporations that run all manner of “Schools” have the authority to create a felony “Defense Free, Anti-Gun Zone” at will, without legislative oversight or accountability.

The Legislature made it legal to have a securely encased firearm safely stored in a private vehicle parked on campus. Despite this clear statutory language, the court today ruled that, it then gave all schools the authority opt-out of the statute’s provisions to make what the Legislature had declared legal a third degree felony.

The relevant statute says:
A person shall not possess any firearm, … or other weapon … on the property of any school… ; however, a person may carry a firearm:
In a vehicle pursuant to s. 790.25(5); except that school districts may adopt written and published policies that waive the exception in this subparagraph for purposes of student and campus parking privileges.

Since the statute does not provide a definition of “school district” or “refer to the Florida Constitution” Judge Haddock refused to interpret “school district” to mean “school district” as it is defined in the Florida Constitution or even as it is commonly understood by other courts or the people.

After deciding that the Florida Constitution is an insufficient source for a legal definition, Judge Haddock then ignored US Supreme Court precedent and looked to Senate Floor Debate between a few legislators discussing part of a law which passed 11 years earlier; legislation that the cited legislators did not even take part in.

In fact, the Florida Legislature refused to pass a provision in 1997 that would have had the same effect that Judge Haddock’s ruling did today. Instead, the legislature’s 1997’s K-12 School Violence Bill limited the ability to create a felony for possessing a securely encased handgun in your car to the publicly elected officials of School Districts. That entire 1997 bill, HB 1039, was passed to establish “Zero Tolerance” laws that only impacted K-12 Schools.

Judges, attorneys, legislators, and the people of Florida know very well that it would be an unconstitutional grant of authority to allow non-elected bureaucrats and company owners to create a felony. That’s exactly what Judge Haddock has now ruled that all schools in Florida can do. Even private “schools” run by for-profit corporations would be able to create a felony by just publishing a waiver to Florida law.

“It’s outrageous!” Said Sean Caranna, Executive Director of Florida Carry, Inc. “In is haste, Judge Haddock has thrown out the clear legislative intent written in to Florida’s statutes and substituted his own idea of what he thinks the legislature must have meant based on a debate by a few legislators. Floor debate that happened over a decade after the law actually passed! This flies in the face of the Firearms Preemption Enforceability laws we passed just last year.”
No judge has the authority to take few moments of Floor Debate and use them to replace and ignore clear statutory language, the legislature’s expressed (written) intent, and even provisions of the Florida Constitution. We look forward to our appeal of this monstrously unprecedented example of judicial activism.

Just yesterday the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned an eerily similar decision. The Kentucky ruling was based on laws that were based on, and are almost identical to, Florida’s gun laws. The right to securely store a handgun in vehicles parked in student parking has been upheld in Kentucky using many of the same arguments we have put forth.

Early on April 26th 2012, before the Kentucky decision was even known, we notified the lower court that we are appealing this case to the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. Decisions of the DCA are binding throughout the state and we will now move to resolve over 15 years of widespread abuse by Florida colleges and universities of the right to bear arms.

We need boots on the ground for these town hall meetings.  This one is critical and the stakes are high.  Please Join Florida Carry.

We need your voice to defend our right to have a fighting chance at life during and after an incident of necessary self-defense.

BTW: The dog is pleased to report that he was not modified to add a Kung Fu Grip.

I’m actually quite pleased with how it feels now.  I’ve seen much uglier stipple jobs, not that mine is all that pretty, but I like it.

I would sandpaper down the stippling a bit for concealed carry to smooth it out some.  As is, it would rub you raw pretty quick and stick to your shirt like Velcro.  But for this gun’s job, the gritty, grippy, goodness is outstanding.

Sharp as a Marble – Ladies and Gentlemen (and you too pdb).

So I went to the garage, pulled out my soldering iron, and proceeded to let the unused pinky extension base plate of a Kel-Tec mag feel the burn.

And It looked good! So, since I’m not carrying the G36 concealed anymore it was the obvious candidate for trying this out some more.

I still need to do the back strap and front finger grooves but I like it.

I wouldn’t recommend doing it to a concealed carry gun that is going to rub up against your bare side skin or clothing but It’s better than skateboard tape and feels great in the hand.

I will probably stipple my older XD .40 also. It’s pretty much a nightstand gun now that I’m packing the XDm .45 and I may re-task the XD .40 for competitive shooting duty also.

I’ve also already stippled my computer mouse, the TV remote, and various pool maintenance tools…

What’s next?

Imagine being the guy who has to tell JFK that we as a nation have to beg the Russians for a ride whenever we want to put an American in Space.

HB463 & SB998 – Shall Issue Carry Licenses for Military & Vets:

Those who defend our country overseas should be able to defend themselves and their families at home. There have been too many incidences of violence against our troops who have just returned from overseas deployments and found themselves defenseless at home. Florida Carry authored legislation that will insure that our current troops and honorably discharged veterans can obtain a license to carry regardless of age or duty station. The bill will also require that fingerprint cards be accepted from military police and provost so that service members stationed overseas can complete their applications.

There are over 8,000 adult service members under the age of 21 living in the State of Florida. Countless more resident veterans and annual military visitors who will have their right the bear arms advanced by these bills.

This is a good first step toward full recognition of the right to bear arms by all law-abiding adults.

Florida Carry Authored and Strongly Supports These Bills
PASSED HOUSE & SENATE UNANIMOUSLY!
Victory! – Signed in to Law 4/13/2012

via Romney, Gingrich react to Obama’s hot mic comment – Fox News.

More to Follow! #FL Carry

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”  -  Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel

This is another anti-self-defense politician using a tragic event to further his own longstanding agenda.

The castle doctrine makes it so that a law-abiding person is able to ‘stand your ground’ to defend yourself only if you have to have a real and justifiable fear that your life is in immediate danger.

This law ended the extremely dangerous requirement that you ‘turn your back on an attacker’ and try to run away.  It did not create a 007 license to kill.  You can’t attack someone without proper cause, or in a place where you shouldn’t legally be, and call it self-defense.

The best investigators from our state and national law enforcement agencies are working this case.  It’s disgusting that some would try to politicize a young man’s death even before the facts are in.  Let our law enforcement professionals do their jobs; and hold them accountable if they don’t.

Leesburg City Manager, Jay Evans

“Let’s not get over-zealous with the rhetoric.  The City of Leesburg is well aware of FS 790.33.
…
Any action taken in the future regarding the existence of these laws in our Code of Ordinances will be done at the discretion, pleasure, and timing of the Leesburg City Commission.”

Oh!?  following state law is discretionary for officials in Leesburg!?  Silly us, we thought that state law was… THE LAW.

He knows full well that the city’s gun-control ordinance is illegal under state law but still refuses to see to its repeal. How is a person supposed to know what ordinances to follow and what ordinances to ignore if the city knowingly publishes local laws that are themselves illegal?

It’s people like this that forced the State Legislature last year to add personal fines for violating its preemption of firearms law after 24 years of abuse by anti-gun politicians and bureaucrats.

Statewide, they’re on notice… Repeal your gun-ban laws and take down your anti-gun signs now before we have to force you in court.  If you make us sue you, we’re going to make you pay out of your own pocket.  It’s the law and we will have compliance.

Gun Group, Leesburg in Legal Shootout Over Weapons Law | Sunshine State News.

But it’s a “GUN FREE ZONE”.  And these are the people who are supposed to protect ME while I’m there…