The Minuteman » Concealed Carry

Category Archives: Gun Rights

Another instance of concealed carry for the win!

By | | , , ,
6 Comments

An off duty police officer was shopping with his girlfriend when a man opened fire in a cellular phone store.

Moore was off-duty and shopping with his girlfriend in the Commercial Drive store Thursday when 79-year-old Abraham Dickan entered and opened fire on the employees.

Moore used his personal gun to return fire, killing him, police said.

I love how it was his personal firearm that was used and he was out shopping. Only one person was struck by the attacker. After seeing this earlier today I just had to laugh:


Posted by Coran T at 6/1/2010 11:14 a.m.

You know Malichite, 

thats kind of the point. We as a society shouldn’t have to feel the need to carry all the time every where. I don’t begrudge anyone that choses to, but I myself (an avid gun owner) feel that stores are the last place that I need to carry one. You are right, no one knows when and where, but to carry one into Lowes, and then should Thug Joe walk in waving his around, I doubt I or anyone else would have the presence of mind and the requisite training to take him down without endangering others around us. And I can assure I have had extensive training in firearms use, but that was a different setting, not a local store. Lowes is not a controlled gun range, nor is it a competition urban range either. Those are controlled areas where everyone that could be harmed are moved into secure areas up range. This is a live area, with real bullets coming at you as well as yours going at them and anyone near them. So to walk into a store expecting to take the bad guy out in a grand display of heroism, is foolish at best for even the most avid of shooters. Another thing to take into account is that this is not a war zone. There are consequences for collateral damage here. This wasn’t some burned out hovel in the streets of Fallujah. This is an American store populated and operated by Americans, just like you and me. And when a bullet goes astray or off target because you squeezed one off while taking cover has far more dire consequences than taking out a Islamic extremist in Baghdad. So in short I would have to disagree with you on principal here. Disarming idiot thugs in this setting should be left to the professionals and not the weekend warriors with a penchant for Dirty Harry movies.

The whole incident was ended with only one innocent injured because someone was carrying a firearm while shopping. Very few people I spend significant time around do not carry. Those that do carry firearms all state the same reason for carrying everywhere, even for a trip down to the corner store, “It can happen anytime and anywhere and it benefits no one to be disarmed by choice.” Being an unarmed victim is a choice that can easily result in your death. My goal is self preservation of myself and those around me, if you see something wrong with that might I suggest seeking professional help. There are those who truly live by the scout motto, and those that just pay lip service. Guess where I live.

Also the comments regarding proper training are a joke. You have officers that screw up so badly they kill a 7 year old girl. Most officers only have to qualify twice a year and even then it’s a minimal course. I shoot more rounds a year than three average officers in Pullman PD combined. There are also many instances of civilian response with 0 innocent casualties due to civilian responders. If you don’t want to carry a weapon that’s fine. Don’t be bigoted towards those who are willing to do the job because you’re too cowardly to handle the responsibility.

Lazy Saturday

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Lazy Saturday

So the goal was to help some people this morning, then hit up VJs and meet up with Laurel to help her with an issue that she apparently has resolved.

When I showed up to help this morning it appears that there were enough people to show up early that it was already done when I showed up on time. So I decided that with so much time to kill it was time to have an impromptu appreciation day for Starbucks.

No I didn’t take this picture at Starbucks.

I was extremely glad I decided to say thank you by paying into the coffers of a local business that didn’t discriminate against gun owners. The reason I was glad was I stopped off to talk to Charles at Sure Shot in Moscow to tell him how TMW’s new holster is working. Upon arrival I hear the following:

Customer: “What the hell is up with the Moscow Co-Op? Have you seen their sign?”

Charles: “Yeah, I’m not sure why they put that up there.”

Me: “Okay, what the hell did I just miss?”

So to provide a little bit of background, for the past three years the following has been visible on the sign at Sure Shot traveling from Pullman to Moscow.

Sorry for the tree, it was raining and I didn’t want to run across the street for a better picture. Lazy I know but you can still read it!

So it ends up that the Moscow Co-Op at some point recently decided that was not proper and posted this as a reply.

WTF!?

The Co-Op sells natural foods etc, WTF does their business have to with firearms? Why are they knocking another small business in Moscow they are not even in direct competition with? TMW and I both upon seeing the sign said, “So much for the Co-Op.” Upon arriving at VJ’s I asked Corina and Dan about it, they were both pissed along with Laurel and Mike, were going to be writing a letter, and we then got into a long discussion where we were going to find items that other places just don’t carry. For those out of the area, we can actually get locally raised meat including buffalo and elk. This really angered us because while one might view the Co-Op as mainly the domain of those that have “Make Love Not War” stickers, none of us have ever been hassled for carrying in the store and have always been treated with a high level of courtesy. This though seems like a low ball shot that was unnecessary and just plain rude. Especially since a lot of us used the Co-Op on a regular basis.

I did learn from Charles he got about 10-15 calls today and numerous locals coming in to ask about the Co-Op sign. He does have a response which will be going on the outbound side coming from Moscow to Pullman. Numerous locals came in asking about it, so on the upside it has generated more traffic for Sure Shot. No such thing as bad publicity right? I would also like to point out I made sure to idle my Ford Earthfucker in the parking lot while TMW took a picture of the sign. I needed to offset the SMUG emissions.

After that though the subject turned much lighter, spent a lot of time chatting and took some other pictures as well as helping with some other miscellaneous problems. The pictures will be posted tomorrow after we all get together for dinner and give Abigail her gift. I don’t normally do artsy photos but Corina gave an idea while I was playing with my new camera. Below is the result, the only processing I did was cropping it.

Now to clean the house since people are coming over tomorrow.

Qotd: Robert Heinlein, 05212010

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Qotd: Robert Heinlein, 05212010

“Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind, it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate–and quickly.” R.A.Heinlein

[I find this generally good advice for conduct throughout different areas. –B]

Mayor Daley, your ignorance is showing

By | | , , , , ,
2 Comments

An officer was shot and killed during a robbery attempt today in Chicago. Mayor Daley is using this opportunity to say that a stricter handgun ban would have prevented the shooting.

The 30-year-old officer was shot as he left his father’s house on the South Side early Thursday morning by would be robbers.

“If this person didn’t have this, never happened,” the mayor said, holding up a handgun on display for the news conference.

Mayor Daley, how is it a criminal is going to obey your law? Aren’t criminals defined by the fact that they break the law?

“Access to guns in America, everybody can have guns, doesn’t matter who they are, doesn’t matter if they have a criminal record, or not, they have access to guns and that’s the most frustrating issue.”

They have access to guns in your view because they can break the law and steal them. How do you believe we should solve this issue? By making good disarmed victims for the criminals to prey upon. Smart thinking there, where did you get your degree, Head Up Rear University? Mayor Daley has a city with crime completely out of control with some of the most strict gun control in the country. However instead of blaming crime on his failed policies and admitting he was wrong, he just continues to create excuses.

It is most ironic that it was the officer’s father who carried a firearm that dealt with the threat.

In the Wortham case, the officer’s father, a retired Chicago Police officer, rushed to his son’s aid. Using his own handgun– retired police officers are allowed to legally keep their weapons– he shot two of the suspects, killing one of them.

It’s amazing what can happen when one is allowed to defend themselves. The retired officer was allowed to carry a gun. So instead of being dependent upon his phone and the police department; he was instead allowed to be self-reliant. As such, he survived and was able to shoot two of the suspects. Mayor Daley, I suggest you remove your head from a particular body cavity, stop acting like a bigot, and take a serious look around. Your policies are killing your citizens, not firearms. What are the real reasons behind your incessant disarmament of honest law abiding citizens?

That’s a California politician for ya!

By | | , , , , ,
Comments Off on That’s a California politician for ya!

Instead of fixing the issue that has caused people to open carry as a public statement, Lori Saldaña just wants to stop them from making their statement.

To some lawmakers, carrying around an empty gun seems threatening. In a quick response to this perceived but non-threat, AB1934 was drafted to make it a crime to carry an empty firearm in plain view. The bill’s author, Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego, is quoted as saying, “What I’m concerned about is people, who have no training, can carry a gun for no other purpose than to make a public statement.”

California is a may-issue state. Translation for the uninitiated; do you like kissing ass? Because if you want a license, start kissing your local sheriffs ass. People to protest this have been doing protests legally by carrying unloaded firearms openly. Instead of looking at the flaws in the process, she intends to further restrict and punish law abiding citizens. I find it interesting that some law makers are uncomfortable by firearms being in possession of their constituents, is it because they’re afraid that one day they may be held accountable for their actions?

Now that’s Awesome!

By | | , , , ,
2 Comments

Son, don’t go pointing guns at people unless you mean it!

Do you want fries with that gunshot wound to the leg?

That is what one Arkansas would-be robber may have been asked, as the Burger King worker he allegedly tried to holdup Monday grabbed the gun and fired it right back at him.

Good for the store clerk, may she get exactly what she wants for Christmas this year. A note to her boyfriend if she has one, she’s a keeper!

Why we’re winning

By | | ,
Comments Off on Why we’re winning

I heard an extremely inspiring story from Snowflakes in Hell indicating the proof that we’re winning the war in the fight for self-defense and firearms.

The other reason we win is a story told to me by someone who works for NRA about an NRA member who donated 450 dollars. The guy had been out of work for a few years, had two disabled children, but he wanted to do something to help preserve the Second Amendment. So he and his wife collected cans from roadsides and public places, until they had saved up enough money. And they were apologizing for not being able to give more. Really makes you realize why we all keep doing this, and need to keep doing this.

I’m trying to think of something to add, but wow. To collect that many cans and to part with the result when he could have very well used the money himself says more than anyone else possibly could. It does remind me though that the most common personality trait I see in the gun community is very giving and helpful. The first year I went to Boomershoot, 100% of the proceeds from the raffle went to Soldiers Angels. The prize winners just gave the cash back to Joe. Obviously we have something to offer that the other side does not. This still hasn’t gone above 20 bucks and I first saw it 2 weeks ago.

And this is a bad thing?

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on And this is a bad thing?

I find that having more women shooting is a good thing. I also find that referring to them as “fanatics” detrimental. While if someone called me one I would just shrug it off, many prospective shooters may not be that thick skinned. The article didn’t really seem to be negative but the title sure is.