------------------------------------------------------------ Household Gunowners' Digest Information, Tips, and Support for the Private Gun Owner ------------------------------------------------------------ May 12, 2002 Volume II, #5 ------------------------------------------------------------ Gwen S. Patton, Editor, wendy_lyn@unforgettable.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This is a FREE newsletter! Feel free to pass it along to friends, so long as you pass it along in its entirety. You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter. ------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ------------------------------------------------------------ => Words from The Range Bag => Review: The Glock 19 Automatic Pistol by Gwen Patton => Political Aims => News from the Home Front => Useful Websites => Submission Guidelines => Subscribe/Unsubscribe information ------------------------------------------------------------ Words from The Other Range Bag by Maggie Leber ------------------------------------------------------------ (This month's editorial comes from our Assistant Editor, since your Editor is feeling under the weather. We also apologize for the short newsletter this month, because of the same difficulty.) Like a lot of us, I subscribe to a number of special interest internet mailing lists, and a fair number of them are on topics dealing with various aspects of gun ownership. Of course, these are largely full of drivel, idle banter, technical trivia, and the perennial "what would you do if" hypothetical situations. These are sometimes useful mental exercises in personal defense strategy and tactics, but are frequently little more than an opportunity for the time-honored game of "more macho than thou". But occasionally we get a first-hand action report, and these are as interesting to me as the reports I read as a private pilot in the aviation press of airplane accidents and near-accidents; real world happenings are valuable data points in understanding situations that *might* happen to you someday, because they obviously have *already* happened to somebody else. So it was with interest that I read a short note from a fellow who opened with "My {insert handgun type here}paid for itrself last night." He went on to descibe an encounter in a dark grocery store parking lot with an assailant who grabbed him by the arm, swung him around and demanded his money and his car keys. Our narrator displayed his handgun, made clear his utter lack of reluctance to use it if pressed, and offered a suggested response, best paraphrased by the words of the character Delenn from the Babylon 5 TV series, in a situation where *she* obviously held the tactical upper hand: "Be elsewhere!" The perp fled, and our story-teller was able to sit down in his car, and spend a little while burning off the adrenaline with an after-action case of the shakes before making his way home. A picture perfect encounter, a better outcome one could not have hoped for, it would seem. Nobody hurt, no shots fired. A non- event. But reading the story over, something bugged me. In the narrative leading up to the assault, the writer mentions taking his cart back to the corral, noting what good citizens people with concealed carry permits tend to be. But *after* the event, he recounts not wanting to bother with notifying the police, the hour being late. I just felt there was a contradiction here...if he was such a "good citizen" as to take the cart back to the corral, where was that good citizenship when it came time to let the police know that an assault, attempted robbery and atempted auto theft had happened? Perhaps helping them out with a description of his assailant? What if the same low-life had just struck someone else nearby? Or was about to try again in a few hours? While one important tenet of armed citizenship is that you can't abdicate to the police the responsibility you have for your own defense, I don't think that means that we should give up on the police, but rather help them when we can. In my view, the lifeblood of police work is information, and when you're an eyewitness to a criminal act, you often have information that nobody else has. Of course I am not a lawyer, and I don't even know in what jurisdiction this particular case went down. But any armed citizen who displays a weapon, even without using it, may later be exposed to a charge of "brandishing" or "terroristic threats" or something similar. Even if all you've done is *draw* your weapon, it may be in your interest to have a police report on the record giving your version of events. Anyone who is a gun owner should certainly study and know in detail the law in their state (any anyplace else they may carry) regarding justification and the use of deadly force. Jurisdictions with mandatory training standards for concealed carry often make that study part of the required curriculum. Every gun owner neede to be as clearly prepared as possible in their own mind as to their own personal strategies and limits in view of the law, and their own ethics and values. But that mental preparation should also extend to situations (like the "display, no shoot" case above) where deadly force is *not* actually used. --- Maggie Leber The Other Range Bag ------------------------------------------------------------ Review: The Glock 19 Automatic Pistol by Gwen Patton ------------------------------------------------------------ I had never fired a Glock before. Of course, I've seen them many times, and have heard about them for years. I've heard the good stories as well as the lies, from anti-gun twits claiming that the "plastic Glocks" will slip through airport scanners, to 1911 fans calling them "combat Tupperware". I've heard others crow about their accuracy, their ease of use, and their reliability, even when abused or subjected to extremes of the elements. But I had never fired one before, until I borrowed one from Classic Pistol to review. I chose a Model 19 Glock as a simple weapon someone might choose for their first -- or only -- home or personal defense weapon. This 9mm automatic pistol is a little under 7 inches long, five inches high, and a little over an inch wide. It weighs about 23 ounces with an unloaded magazine, 29 ounces with a full magazine of 10 rounds. Trigger pull is moderate at about 5 1/2 pounds. The Glock is a very safe weapon. It doesn't have what one would think of as a "safety", a lever that switches it from "safe" to "fire". It has three internal safeties, a mechanism that will not allow the firing pin to be cocked unless the trigger is pulled, an inertial block on the firing mechanism that prevents a fall or impact from causing the firing pin to fall on a round, and a trigger safety, a small lever that extends from the face of the trigger itself that is depressed when pulling the trigger with the finger. It is impossible for the weapon to fire unless the trigger is pulled, and there is no lever to forget to switch in a moment of stress. The owner of the range ran me through the features of the Glock, and cautioned me on one item that is not usual -- when the slide is locked back, and you wish to release it to chamber a round, it is recommended to simply push the slide back with the hand to the full rear position and release. It will chamber the round and go to full battery properly. The slide lock lever is not intended as a slide *release* lever on this weapon, and is deliberately made very small for this reason. He also showed me how easy the weapon is to take apart for cleaning. It comes apart without special tools, and the recoil spring and rod are integral. It does not come apart into many small pieces that will bounce about and tend to get lost, a source of great fear and frustration for a new gun owner, something I can attest to from experience! It should be no problem for even the newest gun owner to take down and clean. I test fired the Glock with a box of standard American Eagle 9mm FMJ ammunition. I noticed one small annoyance with the Glock, one that the manufacturers are quite aware of -- the magazine is difficult to load! I simply could NOT get 10 rounds into the 10-round magazine, no matter how hard I squeezed the thing by hand. I could get 9 in, but not 10. I asked what I was doing wrong, and found that it is a normal problem.In fact, Glock supplies a magazine loading device with each weapon for just such a reason. The slide worked flawlessly when unlocked as instructed. Truly, the slide-lock lever is too small to comfortably use it as a slide release. I have tried pushing back the slide of other weapons to release it, and it does not work with all most of them, so it seems that this is a design point of the Glock. The sights of the weapon are very clear and sharp, even when the weapon is not equipped with tritium night-sights. I had no trouble acquiring a sight picture in moments. I tested the weapon on a half-size bullseye/silhouette target at 7, 15, and 25 yards, firing two magazines at each range. My accuracy at each distance was impressive. My very first shot at 7 rounds was smack-dab in the middle of the X-region, pleasing me no end. When I ran it out to 25 yards, I tried shooting head shots, just to see how accurate this weapon could be. It was surprising, even at that range, scoring multiple hits in the face and neck without strain. It was after firing the Glock that I discovered a flaw in the sights of my own 9mm automatic, which I had previously thought to be fantastically accurate. I found that the sights were off on my own weapon, when I had something truly accurate to compare them to! The Glock 19 is a very compact, easy to use and maintain, safe to carry and simple to conceal weapon. It has phenomenal accuracy even in a stock configuration, and will serve the new shooter as well as the seasoned shooter. It gives a good mix of features, performance, and durability. At a list price of just under $600, it is not an inexpensive weapon, but it could easily serve as a person's only weapon for a long, long time. --- Gwen Patton ------------------------------------------------------------ This review brought to you by: Classic Pistol Indoor Range 1310 Industrial Blvd Southampton, PA 18966 http://www.classicpistol.com 215-953-7264 Open 7 Days a Week - HEPA Filtered Lanes - Gun Shop on Premises ------------------------------------------------------------ Political Aims ------------------------------------------------------------ Justice Department Does Emergency Bat-Turn ------------------------------------------ The Justice Department and the Bush Administration has informed the U. S. Supreme Court that it is reversing its long-held position on the Second Amendment to the Constitition, and is now supporting the belief that individuals hold the right to posess guns. This is in accord with statements made last year to the NRA by Attorney General John Ashcroft, that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to "keep and bear arms" to private citizens, and not merely to a "well-regulated militia" such as the National Guard. Such a contention has been used as the basis for the vast majority of gun-control laws in the nation for nearly 40 years, and this change of policy represents a complete about-face in outlook. "The current position of the United States...is that the Second Amendment more broadly protects the rights of individuals, including persons who are not members of any militia or engaged in active military service or training, to possess and bear their own firearms.." wrote Solicitor General Theodore Olson in his filings. That right, however, is "subject to reasonable restrictions designed to prevent possession by unfit persons or to restrict the possession of types of firearms that are particularly suited to criminal misuse." In the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals landmark case Emerson v. United States, 01-8780, Texas physician Timothy Emerson that a 1994 federal gun law was unconstitutional. The law was intended to deny guns to people under restraining orders. At that time, Ashcroft agreed with the Court, and said: "In my view, the Emerson opinion, and the balance it strikes, generally reflect the correct understanding of the Second Amendment," Emerson appealed to the Supreme Court, and John Ashcroft changed his opinion by the time it reached the bench, this time supporting Emerson, and the right of the individual to bear arms. Emerson still lost his case, but the Supreme Court did agree that the Second Amendment applied to an individual's right, and not the right of the militia, as had been previously held. Anti-gun lobbyists from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence reacted predictably: "This action is proof positive that the worst fears about Attorney General Ashcroft have come true -- his extreme ideology on guns has now become government policy," said Michael D. Barnes, Brady Center president. The Justice Department filing also mentioned the case Haney v. United States, 01-8272, in which a man disagrees with the State's right to prohibit his ownership of two machine guns. The filing further states that, even though their position regarding the Second Amendment has undergone a radical shift, they do not see cause for the Supreme Court to examine either Emerson or Haney at this time, viewing them as examples of "reasonable restrictions" on a citizen's rights. The Supreme Court last ruled on the scope of the Second Amendment in 1939. Illinois Resident Sues Chicago and Illinois for Gun Rights ---------------------------------------------------------- It's been a long road but Christopher K. Morley with your help and under the legal counsel of Mr. Walter Maksym has filed suit against the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. The objectives of the suit are: 1. To restore the rights of peaceful law-abiding citizens to both keep and BEAR arms. 2. To overturn the de facto handgun ban in Chicago and restore the people's right to be secure in their homes. DETAILS: Filed 2:34pm, April 29, 2002, Case Number: 02CH08462, Judge Aaron Jaffe, Rm. 2405, Cook County Circuit Court, Chancery Division For the full text of the lawsuit in HTML format, visit: http://www.concealcarry.org/morleyvdaley.htm PRESS CONTACT: 630 660-3935 DONATE TO THE DEFENSE FUND: Make check out to: Walter Maksym and Associates and put CK Morley Client Fund in memo field Mail to: Concealed Carry, Inc. PO BOX 4597 OAK BROOK IL 60522-4597 Do not make defense fund checks out to CONCEALED CARRY, INC... thanks! Smoking Crater Morally Better Than Armed Pilots ----------------------------------------------- This seems to be the opinion of the FAA, the Secretary of Transportation, the airline manufacturers, and the Bush Administration. They would rather see F-16s shoot down an airliner full of passengers than see the pilot use a firearm to shoot a terrorist. Congressman John Mica (R-FL) said in a USA Today editorial: "It is unacceptable that our last line of defense today is an F-16 shooting down a hijacked passenger aircraft." Once again, a bill is being presented to Congress giving pilots the right to be armed in the cockpits. Wait a minute? Didn't Congress *already pass* such legislation months ago? Yes, they did. Pilots have the right to carry firearms IF they undergo training approved by the FAA, and it is approved by the FAA and the airline. So far, the FAA has not approved ANY course of pilot firearm training, nor has any airline given their nod to arming their pilots. Please take note that the bill that passed was redundant -- the legal status of firearms in the cockpit was not altered by the passing of that law in any way. Pilots could have been armed at any time in the past decade, had the FAA only approved the training course and the airlines given their approval. The only barrier is the anti-gun stance of the FAA, the politicians who support them, and the airlines, who do not want the liability, even though Boeing engineers have assured the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee that "there would be little hazard to continued safe flight and landing" if a bullet shattered a window or penetrated the fuselage of an airliner. They would rather foist off the liability to the terrorists, who would cheerfully die, taking with them a planeful of helpless victims -- or foist it off upon the pilot of a jet fighter, who must shoot down a passenger plane full of innocent civilians, then live with that memory for the rest of his life. A survey done by the Airline Pilots Association clearly shows that the public supports the arming of pilots. This support crosses all segments of the population, even women favoring it over men. 75% of the general public supports arming pilots, and 49% of the flying public would switch their choice of airline to one that allowed pilots to fly armed. Even the notoriously anti-gun Brady Campaign is not opposed to the arming of airline pilots. So why are the pilots still not armed? Why are silly ideas of "stun-guns" being suggested? Three reasons. The airlines, Norman Y. Mineta (Sec'y of Transportation), and John McGaw (Transportation Security Administration). Their anti-gun bigotry is putting every American who gets aboard an airplane in danger. Clearly, passing laws is not going to solve the problem. We have passed this SAME EXACT LAW *twice" now, and the pilots still are not armed! We need to take the choice away from the FAA and the airlines. We need to DEMAND that the training procedures for pilots be chosen and authorized. We need to vote with our wallets when airlines will not take steps to keep us safe in the way that WE feel they should. Enough stalling. Front Sight has offered to train the pilots for FREE. They offer some of the finest firearms training in the nation. Why has the FAA not taken them up on the offer? The FAA should test the training, authorize it, and get the pilots in the classrooms if they so choose. The public has spoken, the law has already been signed, there is no more need for debate -- and no more need for YET ANOTHER law to do exactly the same thing! They will only put it "under advisement" yet again, and start "examining the situation" YET AGAIN, and we will wait and wait and wait for the FAA to approve the training, an event that will never come. Write to the FAA. Tell them to approve Front Sight's pilot firearms training, or to suggest an alternative NOW. No stun-guns in the cockpits! The FAA has established a special email address for issues relating to the impact of September 11 on air travel. I suggest we use that email address to speak about this issue. That address is: 9-AWA-TELLFAA@faa.gov ------------------------------------------------------------ News from the Home Front ------------------------------------------------------------ Nothing this month...but we have something in the works. ------------------------------------------------------------ Useful Websites ------------------------------------------------------------ FirearmNews.com is a useful site for keeping up-to-date with the latest in firearm-related news and articles. You can even get a free applet for adding firearms headlines to your website. Visit http://www.firearmnews.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Submission Guidelines ------------------------------------------------------------ Household Gunowners' Digest is intended for the person who owns a firearm for personal protection, or for the protection of their family or loved ones. We are always looking for feature articles that address the needs of the everyday person who owns, or is looking to own, a personal firearm. We are not looking for articles geared towards hunting, law enforcement, or military applications. For complete guidelines, please see http://www.voicenet.com/~ardrhi/hgd-submit.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2001 Gwendolyn S. Patton, Jeffersonville, PA. All Rights Reserved. Newsletter may be freely shared between individuals, provided that it is shared in toto. For reprinting of individual articles, please contact the editorial staff. ------------------------------------------------------------ To subscribe, send an email to: hgd-home-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To unsubscribe, send an email to: hgd-home-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Or subscribe through our home page at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hgd-home HGD has an open discussion group. All subscribers are welcome to participate. To subscribe, send an email to: hgd-discuss-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Or subscribe through our home page at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hgd-discuss ------------------------------------------------------------ Household Gunowners' Digest is a publication of: Revolution Earth Press 163 N. Whitehall Rd Jeffersonville, PA 19403 610-630-9862 Editor-in-Chief: Gwendolyn S. Patton wendy_lyn@unforgettable.com Assistant Editor: Margaret S. Leber maggie@voicenet.com http://www.revolutionearthpress.com