The other day I posted about the number of school shooting incidents before and since the law making schools "gun free zones". A commentor wanted references so they could use the stats in a paper they were writing. I wrote to Jeff Knox at Firearms Coalition asking if he could share the references with me and he responded with the following:

Joe,
Those statistics were compiled by my sister Shan.  Here is how she answers the question:
Our article was about the impact of the gun-free school zones, so death tolls are
limited to that criteria.  There was an error in the stats - it should have been 14 prior to
1990 and 79 post 1990 (80, now)  - I accidentally messed up on the numbers.  There were two
shootings at "Cleveland Elementary School" in California - one in Stockton, one in San Diego. 
I must have knocked one out, thinking I was duplicating it, so the before figure should have been 13,
but in researching this today, I came across another one that wasn't included in our original findings,
so the actual pre-1990 figure was 14. 
 
The post-1990 figure should have been 79 - there was a shooting in DC which wasn't included -
I don't know why.  The killer was acquitted of murder, so maybe it wasn't showing up as a
homicide in the FBI stats.  There has been one additional fatal school shooting at a Washington
State HS since our report, bringing the total to 80.
 
Since the Crime Control Act of 1990, There have been a total of 80 gun homicides
in school shootings perpetrated by killers who illegally carried firearms onto
elementary or secondary school grounds, or fired onto school grounds,in violation of
the 1990 law.  The number is actually higher - there have been several firearms suicides
comitted in schools, but we only counted suicides concurrent with homicidal school shootings. 
Those weren't included in the FBI report we looked at, but they should rightly be included,
since they still spotlight the gun-free zone" fallacy. 
 
There's what appears to be a complete list - which includes the suicides and a lot of other info, at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school-related_attacks and also at
http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/school_violence/school_shootings.html
 
There have been additional people killed on college campuses and post-
secondary institutions during that time, but those places weren't included in our figures,
because they weren't included in the gun-free school zones provisions.
 
There have also been many, many more people wounded, or killed by other types of weapons.
 
I was using the FBI uniform Crime Reports, but there's a pretty
full list on wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting  For some reason,
it doesn't include Laurie Dann, or details of Oakland Elementary, and a few others
which I'll list later.

Shootings in elementary and secondary schools in the US prior to 1990 - 
 
Cleveland Elementary San Diego, California, January 29, 1979  (2 killed)
Parkway south JH, Saint Louis, MO  Jan.20, 1983  (2 killed)
Goddard Junior high , Goddard, KS  Jan. 21, 1985: ( 1 killed)
Hubbard Woods School  (Laurie Dann) Winnetka, IL  May, 20, 1988 (1 killed)
Oakland Elementary - Greenwood, SC - Sept 26, 1988 (2 killed)
Cleveland Elementary Stockton, California, January 17, 1989 (6 killed)
 
For post-1990, the list is too long to type, but  the Wikipedia link -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting  - has a list of
most US shootings, but also includes post-secondary schools.  It did not include
the fatalities for East Carter High ,  Grayson, Kentucky, 1993 (2)
 
It also did not include:
Wauwatosa West High School  December 1, 1993 Wisconsin (1)
Fayetteville, Tennessee, May 19, 1998 (1)
Lew Wallace High School Gary, IN, Mar 30, 2001 (1)
Lake Worth Middle School , Lake Worth, FL  May 26, 2000 (1)
Ballou Senior High School.  Wash, DC, Feb. 2, 2004 (1)
Henry Foss High School Tacoma, Washington, January 3, 2007 (1)
 
Hope this helps!
Shan

The 50-caliber weapon is one of the most dangerous weapons in the U.S. military's arsenal.

New York State Assembly
BILL NO A02772A
[As they have defined 50-caliber weapons this wasn't true even 200 years ago, long before AC-130s, B-52s, cruise missiles, ICBMs, and tactical nukes. I can't imagine what alternate reality these people live in. I can only conclude they have mental problems. How did these mental cases get elected to office? Are the majority of people in New York State suffering from some sort of mass delusion?--Joe]

It's a start. Now she should get the Feds to arrest the city council and mayor on charges of violating 18 USC 241 and/or 242:

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham says the city's newly enacted gun control laws are unconstitutional.

From my Bomb Help email folder:

From: Peter 
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7:47 AM
To: joeh@boomershoot.org
Subject: let make thing happen

 

Hello...

My name is peter and i am really sad because the mothers in my hood simple told thier daughters to stay away from me because i am too bad a science and i may use their daughter for lab. experiment so i want you to help me do some thing really loud to disturb the peaceful sleep of the hood and blow up some cars that they never ride.....i like bombs from watchs and home appliances but let the procedure be simple so i will never get confused durung the process for safety

reasons.......http://www.boomershoot.org

Cheers

Peter...

  between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99

I wouldn't even consider him for suicide bomber mission:

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:16 AM
To: 'Peter'
Subject: RE: let make thing happen

 

If you are easily confused and bad at science then you sound like you are far too stupid to be let anywhere close to explosives.

The complete message header will be made available upon legitimate request from law enforcement.

Last night I talked to a couple people that live within two miles of the Boomershoot site. They said that over the last few days the temperature got up to 70F and the wind was blowing. The snow just disappeared and the ground dried out enough that a few farmers were out in their fields on Sunday.

Then there was a 40 degree drop in temperature between Sunday and Monday and it snowed.

The weather and conditions for Boomershoot still could be anything. Current forecasts for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the event are for cloudy, rain, and rainy. I have no idea what the difference is between "rain" and "rainy" but that is what the website says.

I won't have much faith in the forecasts until we get within about three or four days of the event. In the mean time participants should be prepared for any type of weather except tornadoes (extremely rare but not unheard of in this part of the country) and hurricanes.

Chris Cox of the NRA has this to say:

“Today’s announcement by New York City (NYC) Mayor Mike Bloomberg comes as no surprise to National Rifle Association (NRA) members across the country. None of these joint Wal-Mart/Mayor Bloomberg initiatives will lower crime, because they ignore the real cause of crime -- criminals.

Mayor Bloomberg has long confused his NYC mayoral podium for a national bully pulpit from which he feels entitled to push his personal gun control agenda outside NYC. Now, instead of trying to impose his philosophy on other cities and states, Mike Bloomberg has set his sights on our country’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Bloomberg proves his disdain for individual firearm ownership, and his assertion that only the privileged should own a firearm and should have the right to defend themselves and their loved ones.

NRA will continue to oppose any scheme that puts burdens on law-abiding Americans and not on criminals.”

Sebastian is pretty pissed but counsels restraint when writing your letters to corporate headquarters.

Here is what really got to me:

Creating a record and alert system to record when a gun sold at Wal-Mart is later used in a crime. If the purchaser of that gun later tries to buy another gun at Wal-Mart, the system would alert the sales clerk of the prior buy and could refuse to make the sale.

Retaining the recorded images of gun sales in case law enforcement wants to view them later as part of an investigation.

Have they ever heard of "due process"? The RKBA is about to be declared, by the highest court in the land, as an individual right guaranteed to not be infringed. And yet if I bought a gun at Wal-Mart and someone stole that gun from me and used it in a crime Wal-Mart would hold that against me if I tried to buy another gun. Why stop there? Why not do the same for knives and baseball bats?

How about flashlights? I'm sure burglars need flashlights when they are sneaking around someone's house in the middle of the night. What if Bloomberg put pressure on Wal-Mart to keep flashlights out of the wrong hands? Would Wal-Mart cave to him about that? Or would they offer to insert their finest four D-cell flashlight someplace where it would help him find his way out of his cranial rectum inversion problem?

What would happen if some KKK member in political power put pressure on Wal-Mart to "retain the recorded images" of blacks/Jews/Gays that made purchases "in case law enforcement wants to view them later as part of an investigation"? This is no different. Guns are just as legal to sell and own as claw hammers, baseball bats, and kitchen knives. For Wal-Mart to single out gun buyers as a special class of people worthy of extra scrutiny and suspicion is deplorable. They are supporting the oppressors of essential freedoms and should be treated the same as those that would collaborate with the KKK.

Wal-Mart management would do well to remember K-MART.

The messed up thing about taxes is you don’t ‘pay’ taxes. The government TAKES them. You get your check and money is GONE! It was not an option! That ain’t a payment, that’s a JACK! I been TAX JACKED!…[The] worst part about it, we pay taxes for [stuff] we don’t even use….Why are black people paying Social Security? I won’t get the money till I’m 65….Meanwhile, the average black man dies at 54. Hypertension, high blood pressure, police….I used to work at McDonald’s making minimum wage….I would get $200 a week and they would take out $50 in taxes. That’s a lot of money if you only making $200….What do you get with that $50? All the free street light in the world. As far as I am concerned, give everybody a candle. Just give me back my $50.

Chris Rock
Via Tempus Fugit
[Even after having my employer take out an extra $600 a month for all of last year we found out yesterday we need to pay several thousand more today. Our accountant said, "Please don't shoot the messenger." Barb is pissed at the government. And I'm thinking, "Just wait until they pay off everyone else's mortgages and our health care is free."--Joe]

After having taught many people to shoot, I've found a universal challenge (in addition to the well-known and documented challenges): It seems that most people have a hard time grasping the idea of charging a semi-auto pistol or rifle.  There is a tendency to want to ease the charging handle (or slide) forward, rather than pulling it all the way back and letting go, so it can fly forward under its own spring tension as should be done.  We demonstrate the technique, and explain why it should be done that way-- the gun operates this way every time it's fired, and it's necessary to let this happen when charging it by hand, so as to ensure a solid lockup of the mechanism prior to firing, and in some cases, to avoid having your fingers bitten by the mechanism.

Still, while doing a team-teaching session this weekend in NRA Basic Pistol, we had a guy cut his finger while charging a MK II pistol.  "It will bite you" I tell them now, "if you don't let go of the slide.  Just let it fly forward."  In my next class it will be an objective to see to it that this doesn't happen again.

It was a very rewarding day, and all the students came away from it satisfied that they had acquired a good basic understanding of the safety principles, of pistols, and of pistol shooting.  The fact that it was a twelve-hour ordeal came to my mind only afterward.  For those who would like the rewarding experience of teaching people to shoot, using proven, time-tested methods, see Joe's post here or contact the NRA about instructor training classes being held near you.

I'm not surprised by this. They know that its bad politics to be on the wrong side of the gun issue. The political graveyard is full of gun control supporters and they are trying to avoid the same fate.

Chris Cox
April 13, 2008
NRA Lobbyist: Despite New Rhetoric, Clinton's "Name is Synonymous With Gun Control, Like Rosie O'Donnell"
[Say Uncle has a good take on the same topic.--Joe]

Reading the "Gun Guys" about "one gun a month" legislation I was reminded of something Alan Gottlieb once told me. The real issue is not the restriction of "one gun a month" but that the only way it can be enforced is if you have gun registration. The anti-gun bigots use the relatively benign sounding "one gun a month" proposal as a back door for the much more onerous and ominous universal gun registration.

This insight never seems to be brought up. I think there is a "Just One Question" response to the "one gun a month" proposals that will help flush these bigots out into the open:

How do you propose to enforce one gun a month?

I was cleaning up my desk and ran across an old Hard Corps Report from September/October 2007. In a little box in an article entitled Disarmed in "Gun-Free School Zone" was the following tidbit of information:

The Aftermath of Gun-Free School Zones
created by the 1990 Crime Control Act

	Years	Incidents
1776-1990	214	7
1990-2007	17	78

Repeal this terrible law. Do it for the children.

This study raises more questions than it give answers. I'm not disputing the results. In fact I have reason to believe it is accurate. But what could possibly be the clues that reveals such details about sexual intent?

Looking for love or lust? Your face gives it away Facial features tell if someone wants commitment or casual sex, study says

It’s no use being coy. If you’re looking for a fling, it might just be written all over your face.

A new study by U.K. researchers found that you can tell just by looking at someone’s face whether they’re interested in casual sex or long-term commitment. And, not surprisingly, women tend to be more attracted to the guys who look like true boyfriend material, while men are drawn to faces that seem to say “one-night stand,” found the study, published Tuesday in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

In a similar vein two different lesbian friends of mine claimed they have excellent "Gaydar". Some simple tests indicate that in fact they were able to determine sexual orientation with very little contact with the people in question. This including their laughing at me when asked if I was gay. Apparently I am so blatantly heterosexual that I couldn't fool anyone even if I wanted to.

Other experiences of mine, which would take too much time to explain, resulted in similar results.

Charlton Heston was a good and decent man, as well as a fine actor and a brave one, who did his own stunts.

Some people can't work out how the same person courageously went on civil rights demonstrations long before it was fashionable, and equally courageously opposed the authoritarian, futile silliness of 'gun control' when that cause wasn't fashionable either.

The two things are completely linked. Both are causes of liberty and justice, and both got him into trouble with received opinion.

Gun control, much imposed by dictatorships, restricts gun ownership to the State, to criminals and (in this country) certain officially approved terrorists.

It bans law-abiding people from defending themselves, even where the State is not doing its job.

Peter Hitchens
April 12, 2008
The week they sowed the seeds of a British secret police
[Some people in the U.K. get it.--Joe]

The details for the Boomershoot Dinner have been finalized. Please see the details and sign up here.

There is a discount if you RSVP early so do it soon. There is very little time left.

There will also be a raffle to benefit Project Valour-IT of Soldiers Angels. You don't need to attend the dinner to participate in the raffle. Please go to the above link to read the details. We are also asking for donations to raffle off. Please contribute to this very worthy cause.

We are only 15 days from the big event and weather forecasts are starting to have some validity. I was on site last Sunday and there was still a lot of snow and mud. Since then we have had some more snow as well as a few days of warm weather. I doubt it has dried out much.

Looking out two weeks is subject to a lot of error but currently the forecast for April 24, 25, 26 (Thursday->Saturday) is, respectfully, for rain, snow, and mostly cloudy with showers. Prior to that there is supposed to be a fair amount of cloudy weather mixed with some sun. I'll visit the site next weekend and will know more but my guess is that we are going to have some mud and perhaps even snow drifts to deal with. This will affect the Boomershoot staff more than the shooters but spectators and shooters should make appropriate plans.

Position 18 has opened up. If you know someone who would like to participate and has not signed up please send them here.

It's not prostitution. It's nuptial gifts.

We are just animals with a more developed brain. The low level wiring isn't all that much different.

Just like penguins and other primates, people trade sex for resources:

Female penguins mate with males who bring them pebbles to build egg nests. Hummingbirds mate to gain access to the most productive flowers guarded by larger males.

New research shows that even affluent college students who don't need resources will still attempt to trade sexual currency for provisions, said Daniel Kruger, research scientist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

The exchange of resources for sex---referred to by scientists as nuptial gifts---has occurred throughout history in many species, including humans, Kruger said. The male of the species offers protection and resources to the female and offspring in exchange for reproductive rights. For example, an arranged marriage can be considered a contract to trade resources.

However, the recent findings suggest that such behaviors are hard wired, and persist no matter how much wealth, resources or security that people obtain.

"It's remarkable to find these patterns in the students in the study," Kruger said. "We have seen many examples where people do this out of necessity, but we still see these tendencies in people who are already well provided for."

I think Barb said she wanted some chores done around the house. Would that be considered an exchange of services?

The city is earning the nickname ‘Killadelphia’ not because of state preemption but because the mayor and city council think punishing law-abiding gun owners will somehow cause criminals to stop killing one another. Does he seriously think limiting legal handgun sales to one a month will prevent drive-by shootings by recidivist gang bangers? Can he honestly believe that penalizing someone for not immediately reporting a stolen firearm will prevent the thief from selling that gun to someone else who uses it in a crime? Where does he get the notion that restricting the rights of honest citizens is going to fix the broken court system that repeatedly returns these thugs to the streets?

None of these measures has worked anywhere else they've been tried. So what makes Nutter think he can perform a miracle now, especially in defiance of state law? Nutter is nuts, and so are the council members who copied these ideas out of the extremist gun control playbook for his rubber stamp signature.

Alan Gottlieb
Founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.
April 11, 2008
SAF BLASTS ‘KILLADELPHIA’ MAYOR, COUNCIL OVER MEASURES DEFYING STATE LAW
[IMHO this should be immediately settled in the court system. Federal Prosecutors should have the mayor and all the city council members who voted for this arrested and charged with violation of 18 USC 242.--Joe]

The TSA should just give it up and let congress spend that money on something that would do some good.

Also note that in this video the morons interviewed think that somehow outlawing the "glass knuckles" will make society safer. Do they think banning sharp sticks will make society safer? These things are so easy to make anyone with a room temperature I.Q. could be taught how to make them. But then maybe the media morons and the people they interviewed should be given a pass because they don't have a room temperature I.Q.

It has just confirmed that Brian Doherty will be attending Boomershoot 2008. Here are the details:

Brian Doherty, author of the books Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern Libertarian Movement and This Is Burning Man: The Rise of a New American Underground, is writing a book about the current DC vs. Heller case and its ramifications. Doherty plans to attend Boomershoot, and, if anything at the event sparks his interest, he may include it in his upcoming book. Doherty is also Senior Editor of Reason magazine/Reason.com. His excellent video summary about DC vs. Heller can be viewed here, at reason.tv.

Also the Saturday night dinner planning committee has confirmed the guest speaker will be a representative from Nightforce.

Even if you do not plan on participating in Boomershoot on Sunday you are welcome attend the dinner. Sign up as a spectator by sending an email to spectators-subscribe@boomershoot.org to be notified of dinner and last minute weather details etc.

If you are interested in becoming an NRA certified instructor in Basic Pistol there will be a class in Lewiston, Idaho on April 24^th, 25^th, and 26^th. This is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Boomershoot. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning (the 26^th and 27^th) there will be a similar class to become an instructor for Personal Protection Inside the Home. You must have the credentials for Basic Pistol before you can take the Personal Protection Inside the Home class.

If you are interested in attending either class please let me know by tomorrow (Saturday the 12^th) morning. Cost is dependent on the number of participants but it will be something in the range of $100 to $150 per person per class. Call me (208-301-4254) or send an email if you have questions.

As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable.

Albert Einstein
[With all due respect to Einstein's insight into physics I must point out his insight into human nature and politics was lacking. We are currently at war not a sovereign nation but a group of religious fanatics that barely recognize national boundaries and have essentially zero in the way of "great power" as defined by modern military metrics. And war has existed, and still does, when the "nations" are nothing more than large tribes equipped with spears, bows, and arrows.

The lesson to be learned from this is that however brilliant someone is in one field of endeavor that is no indication of their ability to contribute in another area. One's reputation in any given area must be earned.--Joe]

Via John, Xenia's boyfriend in Iraq I received a link to this site. [Side note, it is John's birthday tomorrow and he is in Iraq away from his family and girlfriend working to keep us safe.]

It was like stepping through the looking glass into a fact free zone. Here are some examples:

The National Rifle Association in the United States of America has very few female members, but those that are members claim that guns empower them, protect them and give them more freedom in a country marked by the highest crime rate in the world.

"Very few"? I'll agree it's a minority but won't spend the effort on slapping them down other than to point out the NRA has had two women presidents, Sandra Froman and Marion Hammer and Tany Metaksa was the NRA's top lobbyist for a while.

Highest crime rate in the world? Not even close. Even England and Wales have higher crime rates than the US.

Actually much of the effort has been to keep guns and weapons that are considered "too dangerous" off the streets. Things like rocket launchers, grenades and other items usable by terrorists. Besides, who carries a grenade or an automatic sub-machinegun like a Mac 10 around for self-defense?

Shall we talk about handgun bans in Chicago, Washington D.C. (about to be thrown out), and San Francisco (thrown out)?

I have NEVER heard of any laws trying to prohibit shotguns, which is primarily a weapon for hunting deer, elk, bears.

Apparently they have never heard of NFA '34. And I've never heard of a shotgun being considered appropriate for elk.

Magazine clips that contain 10 bullets are more useful to people who carry automatic weapons (which are illegal in most states). You just hold down the trigger and the handgun keeps firing, a bit like a machine gun, which means the criminal in question has the ability to fire many rounds at a police officer quickly and easily, and is more likely to hit the target as a result. Thanks to the 10 bullet limit the person runs out of bullets a lot faster. Since that law has been in place officers in many American states have seen a dramatic drop in the death of police officers due to automatic weapons.

Ignoring the ignorance of saying "magazine clips"... The full auto versus semi-auto game has been played many times with the semi-auto shooter getting more bullets on target than the full-auto in nearly all circumstances. The last sentence is total fabrication. The DOJ study found no such benefits to the "Assault Weapon Ban".

The following is in regard the 10 round restriction for guns designed for full capacity magazines:

Those changes were only less reliable for people using automatic weapons. The new magazines were designed specifically to jam up frequently when used in an automatic gun.

Wow! This person is in total la-la land. There is no need to continue further until they start taking their Thorazine again.

Thanks John. Thanks for everything.

In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable.

Winston Churchill
Speaking of Montgomery.
[Barb and I got the History Channel series on Churchill on DVD via NetFlix and are in the middle of watching the part about WWII. Churchill did have a way with words. Not a lot of energy when he spoke but he certainly used his words well.--Joe]

You have a right to your own opinions, but you don't have a right to your own facts.

Anonymous
[I have found attributions to Churchill, read an instance where Bloomberg said that, and heard one radio personality attribute Daniel Moynihan. If someone has better results in finding the originator please let me know.

What I like about this quote is that it applies so well to many of the anti-gun bigots. Their sloppy thinking confuses opinions and facts in so many ways. A post demonstrating this is forthcoming.--Joe]

I wondered why I was getting so many hits from people using a search engine with the search terms "atf job description".

I investigated just a little bit and discovered if you use those search terms with Google, Live Search, or Ask my blog post is the number one listing. I don't think I know how to express how much that amuses me.

I just hope I can repress the urge to share my amusement with the next ATF inspector that visits me at the Taj Mahal.

Earlier today, Uncle demanded:

I’m here to ask you all to knock that shit off.

I'm here to defy his demands:

Domain Name		usdoj.gov ? (U.S. Government)
IP Address		149.101.1.# (US Dept of Justice)
ISP		US Dept of Justice
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  Virginia City  :  Arlington Lat/Long  :  38.8782, -77.1054 (Map) Distance  :  2,068 miles
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Internet Explorer 6.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; DOJ3jx7bf; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727)
Javascript		version 1.3
Monitor		Resolution  :  1024 x 768 Color Depth  :  32 bits
Time of Visit		Apr 3 2008 12:14:52 pm
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Okay, so I'm not going to get bent out of shape and claim the ATF black helicopters are about to touch down. I'm not really in defiance of the Great and Wonderful Uncle.

What I do want to do is point out that we got the ATF's attention when we pointed out their faux pas regarding Always Think Forfeiture. Whether they give the creator of that incentive tool a promotion and/or publicly flog someone is still up in the air. But you should note that we do have an effect on them. And every minute they spend deciding what to do about getting caught in the sheep pen with their pants around their ankles is less time they have to spend infringing the rights of the innocent. It will also be a very useful thing for our friends in congress to bring up during budget hearings with the ATF. Jed did good. Real good.