Justices, Historians Differ over History: ...In the other case, District of Columbia vs. Heller, the justices wrote about 150 pages of opinion and dissent on whether the 2nd Amendment was intended to preserve a "well-regulated militia" in each state or to protect an individual's right to keep a gun for self-defense...Scalia also cited studies by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh and others showing that some Colonial-era state constitutions spoke of a right "to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state." This suggests that the right to bear arms extended beyond service in the state militia. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said Scalia was looking in the wrong place. James Madison, the author of the Bill of Rights, rejected broader proposals and focused on preserving "a well-regulated militia" and a right to "bear arms" in military service, Stevens contended... http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus13-2008jul13,0,2283584.story Related Commentary: http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=315405 http://www.slate.com/id/2194999/?from=rss http://www.azstarnet.com/news/248050 --- Rule Five Reminder: A jury has cleared Pennsylvania state Sen. Robert Regola of any wrongdoing in the death of his neighbor, a 14-year-old boy. The Republican lawmaker was charged with perjury, reckless endangerment and allowing a minor to illegally possess a gun. The teen used the handgun, which was registered to Regola, to shoot himself in July 2006. He had been in the Regola residence, in Hempstead, the night before, caring for the family dog, while the state senator was out of town. A coroner ruled the death a suicide. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.azstarnet.com/news/247979 --- When Guns Are Outlawed...: ...The Sunday Telegraph has obtained data from 33 of the 43 forces in England and Wales, covering more than four-fifths of the population. The figures show that 20,803 serious knife crimes were recorded in the year to March, or 56 per day. Allowing for forces that did not provide figures, the nationwide total is expected to be about 25,000. If Scotland and Northern Ireland attacks were included, it would be even higher. The count includes only murders, stabbings where blood is spilt, and knife-point muggings. If less-serious crimes such as threats or illegal possession were included, the figures would be much higher. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/2298646/Knife-crime-claims-60-victims-a-day.html?DCMP=EMC-new_13072008 --- 7 July 08 >From a friend and Instructor in IL: "The issue within the twisted reality of Chicagoland politics is the fact that there are some really decent people, dear friends of mine, living in the middle of ceaseless, major crime-zones, who don't want to become victims, and who thus want to become armed and trained. A courageous friend in this very position recently confronted a fleeing, violent felon who was desperately trying to escape from CPD officers during a foot-chase. The felon tried to find refuge in a neighbor's tool shed, but experienced a sudden mind-change when confronted by my friend, pistol in hand, who instructed the felon that it was time for him to move on! The felon was captured minutes later, without incident, hiding in another property down the street. All well and good, but this dauntless, armed homeowner knows full well that, had he held the perp at gunpoint and subsequently presented him to police, an act which he considers his civic duty, the police would have arrested him on a preposterous weapons charge, along with the felon. Of the two, the felon would have been out of jail sooner! The incident would have cost my friend thousands of dollars and consumed hundreds of hours of work time. He may well have spent significant time in prison, and would end up with a felony record himself! After all that, the Mayor wouldn't even say 'Thank you!' These good people have been given no viable choice by the State of IL and the City of Chicago. They must either nonchalantly allow themselves to be maimed, murdered, raped, and terrorized by violent criminals, or they get to be arrested and go to prison for resisting effectively. Yes, they need to move to a better neighborhood. Don't we all? I'm sure most wish they could! But, economic realities compel them to live where they do. They are still good people, and desperately want to live honorable and productive lives, but City officials, and violent criminals, have united in a 'War on Decency' against them, and good people everywhere." Comment: This is the pathetic plight of so many living within the confines of major metro areas, where any species of effective self-defense is prohibited by detached, paranoid city officials who perpetually lust after power and care about little else. And, this is the sad state of affairs the recent Heller Decision was specifically designed to remedy. It can't happen too soon! /John 10 July 08 SIG's M556 Rifle I finally have an opportunity to train with SIG's military rifle, in 223. Like everything SIG makes, it is well put together, weighty, not as compact as my XCRs nor even my ARs. I'm doing an Urban rifle Course in OK next week, so I'll have the opportunity to use it there. Controls are AR-like. The rifle itself is rugged and obviously designed for heavy fighting. Trigger is precise. Link is quite distinctive. This rifle is surely set up for serious use. It takes AR-15 magazines. I'm sure there was loud and acrimonious discussion over this subject deep within the bowels of SIG-dom. SIG makes a wonderful, proprietary plastic magazine, for its earlier 550-series of rifles, which were imported under LE-only restrictions. The decision was made that this "general" version of the Rifle, the current M556, would be modified to accept commonly-available AR-15 magazines and not the former, proprietary ones. I'm sure many in SIG anticipated magazine-related "problems" to thus develop with this new rifle, over which the manufacturer, of course, has no control. We'll see! I've developed a preference for steel AR-15 magazines (over aluminum), and the ones made by Fusil an C-Products run just fine. I don't like the ambidextrous safety levers, and the SIG rifle has one. When I operate the lever with my right thumb, my trigger-finger (right index-finger), which is correctly in the register position, interferes with the safety's movement. Happily, the right-side extension is pinned in place, and I anticipate simply removing it, leaving the lever on the left side intact. My copy of the 556 has full-length rails on all sides, and I have a Micro-Aimpoint, forward mounted, on Mark LaRue's wonderful quick-detach mount. The Rifle comes with crude, but wonderfully compact, iron sights. At $1,500.00, the SIG Rifle is at the high end, as SIGs always are. But, there is a lot to like here. More later! /John 11 July 08 LaserMax and Training: My nine-year-old grand-daughter and I were shooting prairie dogs last week at a ranch in WY, and she was, as all new shooters do, having difficulty simultaneously keeping sights aligned while pressing the trigger. In order to assist her in visualizing the concept of trigger-control, I invited her to dry-fire my LaserMax-equipped SA/XD/40S&W. As a target, we used a staple in a fencepost ten feet away. I asked her to hold the pistol as she watched the pulsating, red dot, and to hold the dot on the staple- all as she smoothly pressed the pistol's trigger. I added that the red dot needed to stay on the staple all the time the trigger moved and especially after the hammer dropped. Any precipitous movement of the dot during trigger movement indicated a missed shot. I was astonished at the speed at which she picked up the concept with the aid of this visual reference! After this impromptu lesson, her rifle shooting instantly improved dramatically. As I have indicated, I now regard laser-equipped pistols to be useful tactical devices, and I satisfied myself of the validity of that opinion at this year's NTI in Harrisburg, PA in May. However, I now also see the laser's exceptional usefulness as a training tool for young shooters as it shows them visually the striking effect of even slight muzzle movement during trigger manipulation. Confirmation of the ancient principle of learning theory: "What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand!" /John (I have always been more comfortable with the laser as a teaching tool than a tactical one - when teaching there is usually time to wonder where the red dot has vanished, without putting oneself at risk while wondering. I routinely use a revolver with LaserGrips when teaching. Among the advantages, the students don't have to put on hearing protection for my demonstrations and their targets don't get filled with bullet holes that are not of their own making.) -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .