Life Savers: Good News in Gun News!

Happy Friday Gun Owners! Here are a couple of Good News Gun Stories to send you off into the weekend!  I love this granny's attitude, as she feels safe with her .38-caliber pistol by her side! 

And I know this video has made its way around the internet, but I had to include it, since it's such a great visual example of how guns really do save lives!

Gun-toting S.C. granny scares off burglars

BLENHEIM, S.C. – There are certain people criminals should not mess with: martial arts experts, superheroes and Ruby Hodge of Blenheim.

When two would-be burglars broke into the 89-year-old widow’s house Monday on S.C. Highway 38 just outside of Blenheim, they probably didn’t expect to find Hodge and her .38-caliber pistol waiting for them.

Standing in her bedroom next to her pink and white floral bedspread, Hodge is just over 5 feet tall and weighs maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. However, just after 8 a.m. Monday, she was more than two grown men could handle.

“I decided I would go see who it was,” Hodge said, recalling she heard someone knock twice on her back door just off the kitchen of her small house. “But before I moved, they knocked a third time and busted my door open. I said to myself, ‘That’s a break in!'“

The men – later identified by police as Ronnie Henry Stevenson Jr., 31, of 956 High Point Road in Lydia, and Nelson Hawkins, 42, of 1564 Turnpike Road in Darlington – were no strangers to the law. Both had lengthy criminal records and were persons of interest on prior burglaries by both Marlboro County and Darlington County sheriffs’ offices.

Their experienced criminal background did them little good against Hodge.

“I got my gun,” she said, reaching under her mattress just as she did Monday morning and pulling out her .38-caliber pistol, fully loaded with six bullets. It belonged to her late husband, who died some 22 years ago. Since then it has just been Hodge and as she showed Stevenson and Hawkins, she can take care of herself.

Read More ...

Customer at Internet Cafe Shoots 2 Robbers

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/25/3404133/gun-toting-sc-granny-scares-off.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/25/3404133/gun-toting-sc-granny-scares-off.html#storylink=cpy

delays and debates

Sorry for the delay in posting yet another riveting article on guns and/or the Second Amendment.  Given last week's unfortunate shooting incident, our office has been slammed with phone calls, interviews, and the like ... while short staffed at the same time.  I know, that doesn't mean that much to you, but it's my excuse nonetheless.

Whenever a mass shooting occurs, GOC and GOA get bombarded with phone calls from reporters who want quotes on why we still think the Second Amendment is important and others who want interviews to provoke discussion on the gun issue.  Yesterday, our Executive Director, Sam Paredes, participated in a debate with  Ben Van Houghton of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence on News10 in Sacramento.  


Watch the debate and tell us who you think won! (My favorite part is when Sam leans in and corrects Mr. Van Houghton on his facts)


http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=1750206529001&odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|featured

Friday Life Savers

Costa Mesa homeowner pepper sprayed by burglar, shoots at him with his handgun

By Don Frances

Tip to burglars: Don’t bring pepper spray to a gunfight.

A burglar in Costa Mesa learned this earlier in the week after blasting a homeowner in the face with his pepper spray canister. The homeowner, presumably blinded, nonetheless managed to retrieve his handgun and squeeze off a few rounds in the general direction of the intruder, Costa Mesa police said in a press release.

He missed, but the burglar fled for his life.

The incident took place around 2:40 a.m. Monday morning, police said, when “an unknown suspect pried open the front door to a home in the 2400 block of Elden Street.” The homeowner, awoken by the noise, discovered the intruder in his bedroom -- right before getting pepper sprayed. (Apparently burglars are known to do this.)

But he somehow managed to grab his gun -- perhaps he keeps it by the bed? -- and fired at the burglar.

“The suspect was last seen running eastbound down the driveway,” police said.

Nothing in the home was taken.

Police have no description of the burglar, probably because his intended victim had been blinded. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Det. Rob Hanson of the Costa Mesa Police Department at (714) 754-5162.

New Series: Good News in Gun News

It gets tiring listening to the liberal media crushing the Second Amendment, every time they report on a story where a gun was used to harm.  Yes, it happens, and it's devastating, every time a life is lost or injured ... due to the misuse of firearms.  It's the age-old argument, "guns don't kill people, people kill people".  And it's true.  The gun didn't aim itself at the innocent person.  The trigger didn't pull itself.  There was a brain and a human action behind the gun.

We could go on and on and on, couldn't we?

Well, since the liberal media refuses to report on stories where guns were used properly and where they were used to save a life, we will do our part to spread those good-news stories around.  The people need to hear them.  And the Second Amendment needs the support of smart, law-abiding citizens that effectively use their firearms, when necessary.  

So every Friday, we will post a story or two, about how guns saved a life. This is our "Life Saver: Good News Gun Stories" Series.  So stay tuned, and re-post our good news stories with a link back to our blog!

Today, you get two stories {with one even coming from the Bay Area}:

CA Man With Permit to Carry Stops Restaurant Robbery
2012 JUNE 26

A CA man with a concealed weapons permit stopped an armed robbery at a Subway Sandwich shop. The would be robber ordered a sandwich and after the clerk was done making it the suspect drew a knife and demanded money. Read Full Story

Man holds teen burglary suspect at gunpoint in Santa Rosa

SANTA ROSA -- Police in Santa Rosa arrested a teenaged boy who allegedly broke into a house Sunday night after a man living at the home held the would-be burglar at gunpoint, a police sergeant said.

Read Full Story

Thanks to Keep and Bear Arms for providing nationwide links to articles where guns saved lives

Michigan Court Strikes Down Stun Gun Ban & Says Second Amendment Applied to Open Carry

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Ammoland

Tags:Eugene Volokh|Lawsuits|Open Carry|Second Amendment|Stun Guns

By Eugene Volokh

Eugene Volokh

USA --(Ammoland.com)-  People v. Yanna (Mich. Ct. App. June 26, 2012) holds that Michigan’s stun gun ban violates the Second Amendment.

I filed an amicus brief on behalf of AWARE (Arming Women Against Rape & Endangerment) in this case, and also wrote a law review article on the subject (Nonlethal Self-Defense, (Almost Entirely) Nonlethal Weapons, and the Rights To Keep and Bear Arms and Defend Life, 62 Stanford Law Review 199 (2009)), so I’m especially pleased by the result.

I hope also that this leads to similar results in some of the other places which ban stun guns — D.C., Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin, as well as the several cities that take a similar view, some of which are in relatively right-to-keep-and-bear-arms-friendly areas.

The court also in the process made three broader statements:

1. The Second Amendment applies not just to firearms but to other weapons as well. “[The state] argues that Heller is strictly a gun control case, but the broad nature of the language used in Heller’s definition of arms clearly covers more than just firearms.”
2. Even weapons that are “far less prevalent than handguns” may still be protected by the Second Amendment. “The prosecution also argues that tasers and stun guns [are] ‘unusual’ or rare weapons. However, they are legal in forty-three states, and in Michigan are routinely used by law enforcement officers. They have been in use for several decades. Though far less prevalent than handguns, we do not think that stun guns or tasers may be fairly labeled as unusual weapons.”
3. The Second Amendment extends to open carrying of at least some weapons — possibly including other “protected arm[s],” such as handguns — in public, and not just to possession in the home. “The next question is whether the protected status of these arms makes unconstitutional a complete ban on carrying them in public. Heller specifically addressed only a full ban of protected weapons inside the home, not in public. Further, the analysis in Heller focused in part on the unmatched popularity of handguns for self-defense, and did not make clear to what extent greater restrictions could be applied to less popular weapons.

“On the other hand, Heller states that concealed weapons may be banned, but makes no such statement regarding openly carried arms. Indeed, Heller cites with approval two state cases that struck down laws prohibiting the public carrying of hand guns. The Second Amendment explicitly protects the right to ‘carry’ as well as the right to ‘keep’ arms. Likewise, the Michigan Constitution specifically allows citizens to ‘bear’ arms for self-defense. We therefore conclude that a total prohibition on the open carrying of a protected arm such as a taser or stun gun is unconstitutional.”

About:
Eugene Volokh is a law professor at UCLA, who specializes in free speech, religious freedom, church-state relations, and gun rights; he is the author of two textbooks, over 70 academic articles, and over 80 op-eds, and is the founder of The Volokh Conspiracy blog.

 Distributed to you by - AmmoLand.com – The Shooting Sports News source.

Read more at Ammoland.com: http://www.ammoland.com/2012/06/28/michigan-court-strikes-down-stun-gun-ban/#ixzz1z6yjBlxW

It's just a shirt!

I just stumbled onto this blog and found this post both humorous and pathetic.  Not at the writers expense, of course, but at the fear that is so clearly driven by the media's miscommunication of guns to the public.  Read on, and see for yourself:

From GunGoddess

A gun image on a t-shirt could be hazardous to a DMV clerk’s health

Posted on Monday, June 25th, 2012 at 2:26 pm.

From a GunGoddess customer, in her own words:

“Ok, from now on you have to put a warning on your Gun Goddess t-shirts because of what happened today while I was wearing mine!  LMAO!  Do you know how dangerous a silk screened gun can be?  Apparently this DMV clerk thought I was gonna rip it off and go gun crazy!

So I know that craziness follows me wherever I go, but at DMV? I had an appt this morning for 9:30 to pick up my personalized plates. So I go, check in and they give me a number. Like a minute later they call my number. I go to the line and the clerk looks up at me and her eyes get REAL wide and she says “I’m sorry but you’re shirt (YES, SHIRT) is making me really nervous and uncomfortable. Would you please leave?” WTF????

I said “No, I will not. I have an appointment and I am here to take care of it” She says again “I am asking you to leave and I can call security to escort you” I said “Call them and while your at it, call your supervisor” The security guy comes up and asks what the problem is and the clerk tells him my Gun Goddess shirt is making her nervous and she would like me escorted off property. Again, WTF???

He says “Ma’am, are you carrying a weapon?” I said “No, I am not (I wasn’t)” and then the supervisor shows up and asks me the same thing. IT’S A PICTURE OF A GUN ON MY SHIRT FOR CHRIST SAKES! The clerk asks the supervisor to complete my transaction as she sits nearby nervously twitching. Supervisor handles it, runs my DL number, assured that I am not a criminal she gives me my plates and I leave. Now my Gun Goddess shirt made her nervous but the woman in the FULL BURKA ahead of me did not? Do you have any idea how much **** you can hide under a burka???? God save me from the idiots at the DMV!

I also told her “I have a shirt that says “Yes, They’re Fake” would you be afraid that my implant might explode?”  She didn’t think that was funny.  LOL”

**********

Have a story to share about someone’s ridiculous response to your gun-themed clothing or accessories? Email it!Feedback@GunGoddess.com

Amazon

Being a non-profit, member based organization, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to raise more money ... we may be a little behind at times, but with new technology always emerging, we are doing our best to keep up.

(This is the point at which you are more than welcome to chime in with offers to help in our fundraising effort ... just sayin')

With the increase of online businesses, there are more opportunities to raise money or increase funds through businesses like Amazon.  We have recently joined the Amazon Associates Program, which enables us to make money off of particular products purchased through simple advertisements on our website.

We understand that you can barely navigate from one website to another without being bombarded with advertisements, and rest assured, we don't want to do that to our members.  However, we will use this opportunity to showcase items that might actually be of interest to our gun loving members.

So, the next time you want to browse Amazon for the latest hunting or gun gear, use our website as a portal!  You will be helping raise money to protect your gun rights!  And why not do that, just by shopping online?!

(See the rolling add on the sidebar of our website or the link under the "Media" tab) Or click on the banner below!

Banning the Use of Hounds in Hunting: But It's in His Blood

The California Legislature has been acting with brutal force this year, to not only strip Californian's of our Second Amendment rights, but also to rid the state of hunting.  Their attack on hunting is through Senate Bill 1221 which would ban the use of hounds for the hunting of bears and bobcats.  As our Executive Director says it in his Legislative Update video, "this is just the camel's nose under the tent".  It's their first move to stop hunting altogether, all under the guise of saving the hounds from possible harm.

Now I'm going to get a little personal here, so please excuse the lack of formality ...

Meet Porter ... my German Shorthaired Pointer

This was Porter as a puppy.  Cute, right?

Well, this is him at 7 months:

Beautiful, right?  We can't walk through Home Depot without people stopping us to compliment him.  He's a year and a half now and only looks better, stronger, and in my potentially biased opinion, perfect!

Any owner of a GSP knows these dogs are made for hunting.  It's in their blood.  He sees a bird and he's frozen.  I fully admit to failing him when it comes to proper training ... but the instincts are still fully present.

And now the state is going to tell us that we can't let dogs do what they were born and bred to do?  The attack is on hunting of bears and bobcats right now; but if this bill passes, the attack will move to prevent the use of hounds while hunting all animals, including upland game and waterfowl.

Gun Owners of California is determined to fight this bill tooth and nail.  Are you with us?

Share this post, along with our website, to let people know what is happening to their hunting and Second Amendment rights!

**Then, post a picture of your hunting dog on our facebook page! Let's see all of those beautiful hunting dogs and praise them for doing what they were meant to do so well!

Fighting Gnomes

I bet these armed garden gnomes will do their job at protecting your yard from pests and critters alike!

In fact, I hope they fight off more than just garden pests!

This was a fun article to find, in the midst of our busy week since the legislature came back! 

Gnomes with guns take garden pest control up a notch 

Paws in the air or we'll shoot... that's the mission these platoon of gun-toting, garden-protecting gnomes have been given by their creator, former US Naval reserve officer Shawn Thorsson.

Known as the 'combat garden gnomes', these favourite back-garden ornaments have been given a total overhaul that has turned them into a lean green fighting machine. 

Foxes, rats, squirrels and other outdoor pests are in the cross-hairs of hand painted AK-47s - and you can be sure they're not afraid to use them. 

The idea to create the unit was formulated when Mr Thorsson was serving in Afghanistan and received a joke present of toy army men. 

'Someone sent me a package of those cheap plastic green army men as a gag,' explained the 34-year-old from Petaluma, California.

'I did some searching online and found that there were no blue plastic sailors. I felt unrepresented so I sent away for some materials and spent a couple of nights sculpting out little sailors.

'Some months later I was out at sea on a container ship and had a lot more down time.

'I was mulling over what else I could do with little green plastic army men. I was also thinking of sculpting out some comical garden gnomes.

'It didn't take long before these two ideas merged and I started sketching out Combat Garden Gnomes.'

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/872437-gnomes-with-guns-take-garden-pest-control-up-a-notch#ixzz1VEVR9Ygs

Read more ...

i disagree assemblyman, i disagree

In-N-Out Shooting Victim Helping Troops Prepare For Iraq

Martin Hanna Shot At El Cajon Restaurant By Dejon White, According To Police

POSTED: 6:38 pm PDT August 8, 2011

UPDATED: 2:39 pm PDT August 9, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- 10News learned the man shot at an El Cajon fast food restaurant on Saturday was helping local troops prepare for work overseas.Martin Hanna has been at Sharp Memorial Hospital surrounded by his family just two days after police said he was shot at close range by 23-year-old Dejon White.Authorities said Hanna was inside his car at the In-N-Out Burger on North Magnolia Avenue when he was shot.

continue reading ...


AND ...

2 Men Rob Ramona Taco Shop At Gunpoint

Los Rancheros Taco Shop At 1847 Main St. Robbed Early Friday

POSTED: 6:47 am PDT August 12, 2011

RAMONA, Calif. -- Two men robbed a Ramona taco shop at gunpoint early Friday but no one was hurt, a sheriff's lieutenant said.
The robbers hit Los Rancheros Taco Shop at 1847 Main St. around 1:45 a.m., said San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Jim Walker.
They got away with cash, he said without elaboration.

article via 

"The Truth About Guns"

I have yet to really browse this new website I came across this afternoon, but I'm looking forward to learning more about them, since just their name is attention-grabbing.  "The Truth About Guns" ... what a concept really; the truth, explained by people that actually know something about the topic at hand.  It's rather frustrating hearing so many people, whether they be reporters or politicians, talking about guns as if they knew anything about them.  Wouldn't you agree?

What drove me to this website (http://thetruthaboutguns.com/) was a video, actually.  A video on a topic our office is very familiar with - a bill that we have been invested in fighting since day one.  It's a video on AB 144 (Portantino).  Yes, that's the bill trying to ban open carry.  (in the video, Portantino even admits that there haven't been any crimes or deaths due to open carry in the State of California)

http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/08/daniel-zimmerman/you-dont-need-a-handgun-to-order-a-cheeseburger/
Check it out.  It's 8 minutes long and it is well worth the viewing.  It's refreshing to see someone who knows guns and knows the law talk about the Second Amendment, as opposed to Assemblyman Portantino, who clearly doesn't know guns, or the law.

Watch the video and let us know what you think!

Is this real?

While checking out other gun blogs and facebook pages, we came across this headline: 

Virginia Police Seek Serial Butt Slasher

Obviously, it peaked some interest.  So we clicked on it and read on: "Fairfax County (Va.) Police believe a man captured on video surveillance footage may be responsible for cutting the buttocks of five women in retail stores while they are shopping."  (read more ...)

Clearly, the ridiculous nature of this man's cruel habit generated conversation in the office.  The only response to this ludicrous story we could come up with: if more women where carrying guns under their shirts, fewer butts would be slashed.  (see yesterday's post for reference)

It's so absurd, it's almost funny.  But in reality, it's disgusting.  There are too many people out there who set out to rape, kill, or bring some other form of harm to women and children ... and to law-abiding peaceful citizens.  If this guy gets caught, he will probably be let off due to some sort of doctor-invented mental disorder.  Unfortunately, it's the world we live in.

It's sad.  Frankly, it's pathetic.  And it's absolutely necessary, that good people stand up and join the fight to save their rights.    

Hi, my name is ...

It's nice to meet you.

We are Gun Owners of California.

And this is who we are:




An intro is better late than never, right?