The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 3 weeks 6 days ago
Chicago’s Final Tally of Weekend Violence: 41 Shot, 9 Fatally
TTAG reported yesterday on the violent long holiday weekend Chicago was experiencing—yet again—and with the weekend over, the final tally of shooting-related violence left 41 people shot, nine of them fatally. Among the victims was a 5-year-old girl, Reign Ware, whose tragic death has garnered significant attention and a plea for justice from her grieving mother.
Following is a rundown of just some of the key shootings that took place with details provided by ABC 7 News in Chicago:
Friday Night, Albany Park
Time: Just before 11:30 p.m.
Defensive Shooting in California: No Charges Filed
They say breaking up can be hard to do, especially when some guys don’t take rejection well. Of course, when the new boyfriend has a gun, it’s probably wise not to go full-on Stalkerville and definitely don’t show up “inside” the ex-girlfriend’s or her boyfriend’s home attacking one of them. That seems to be what played out at one Carmichael, California, apartment over the weekend where despite onerous gun laws, citizens can apparently still defend themselves.
Continue reading Defensive Shooting in California: No Charges Filed at The Truth About Guns.
ATF Director Struggles to Define “Engaged in the Business” Threshold During House Judiciary Hearing
AWR Hawkins over at Breitbart is reporting that ATF Director Steven Dettelbach faced pointed questions from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) regarding the new universal background check rule during a House Judiciary hearing on Thursday. Gaetz sought a precise definition of what constitutes “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, a key element in the enforcement of the rule.
Dettelbach admitted that there is no specific numerical threshold for when private citizens are considered firearms dealers.
The Streamlight Strion 2020: Hands on Review
I’m a bit of a flashlight enthusiast. I won’t classify it as full flashlight geekdom, in that I don’t go deep into the weeds on specs, but I do want certain performance features and keep trying lights to see what’s new. Flashlight tech really does advance and newer ones are generally better than older ones. Not that an older light still won’t do their jobs, light is light after all, but newer ones tend to do it better.
Continue reading The Streamlight Strion 2020: Hands on Review at The Truth About Guns.
The Tragedy Continues: 31 Shot, 5 Killed in Chicago Memorial Day Weekend Violence…And We Still Have Today to Go
Between Friday and Sunday this weekend, Chicago witnessed what has become its almost expected tragic surge in gun violence, with at least 31 people shot and five fatalities. The violence underscores a simple fact: the city doesn’t have a gun problem, it has a crime problem, more pointedly, it has a gang crime problem. And this point is made even clearer since Chicago is in a state with some of the most stringent gun control laws anywhere.
Firearm Industry Remembers Cost of Freedom This Memorial Day
I once walked among giants.
It was a brief time – that feels even more brief as the years pass since I wore the uniform of a U.S. Marine. It was just 25 years, and for some, that might seem as if two-and-a-half decades was a lifetime. Looking back, especially on Memorial Day when we pause as a nation to honor those who gave their lives in defense of freedom, my time walking among giants was a moment to stand in awe of these great Americans.
Light, Lively, and Deadly: Benelli’s Super Black Eagle 3 in 28 Gauge Is the Perfect All-Day Autoloader
I was dumping wind-driven mallards with enough consistency to quietly praise both my ability to visualize the crazy amount of lead required and the snappy 12-gauge Franchi I was swinging.
But for every bird I sent cartwheeling into the Nebraska Sandhills pothole, my buddy Scott Turner crushed another, and both of us were reaching out to 40 and 45 yards for some of the wariest greenheads and teal. Only Turner was shooting a 28-gauge and laughing after every shot.
Just In Time for Memorial Day Cookouts: ATF Director Grilled at Congressional Hearing
ATF agents cut off the electricity to Bryan Malinowski’s Little Rock home before executing their search warrant March 19. None of the agents wore body cameras, and they covered Malinowski’s doorbell camera with tape to hide their actions. Fifty-seven seconds after kicking down the front door, Malinowski was fatally shot in the head. His wife, Maer Malinowski, was pulled out of her home wearing only bedclothes and forced into the back of a squad car, where she was held against her will for four hours in 34-degree weather, despite her frequent pleas to check on her dying husband.
Pennsylvania Dad Set for Release After Turks and Caicos Sentencing, Four Other Americans Still Detained
The months-long saga for at least one American trapped on the island of Turks and Caicos (TCI) after airport security there discovered loose rounds of ammunition in his travel bag seems to be finally coming to end. A TCI judge today issued a suspended 52-month sentence to Bryan Hagerich, a Pennsylvania father of two and former professional baseball player, for possessing the ammunition. Hagerich, who pleaded guilty, was also fined $6,500. According to Fox News, he is expected to be released soon.
Firearm-Related Fatalities are Third Lowest on Record
The firearm and ammunition industry’s commitment to secure firearm storage and safe firearm handling is – again – proving its effectiveness. The National Safety Council’s report on preventable injury and fatality statistics shows that firearm-related deaths were at the third lowest on record for 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.
That’s a significant achievement. Make no mistake, there’s still work to do to drive the figure to zero.
Continue reading Firearm-Related Fatalities are Third Lowest on Record at The Truth About Guns.
Georgia’s Attorney General Puts Stop To City of Savannah’s Anti-Gun Shenanigans
Recently, anti-gun doofuses on Savannah, Georgia’s city council thought it would be cute to pass some local gun control ordinances. On the surface, the ordinances seemed fairly reasonable. One tells people in the city to secure firearms in a vehicle that’s unoccupied (a generally good idea). Another requires people to report stolen guns to law enforcement (again, a good idea).
But, there’s just one problem: Georgia cities don’t have the authority to do that.
FPC, NRA File Briefs With Supreme Court Over Mexico Lawsuit
The case involving Mexico’s lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers and retailers for violence south of the border is beginning to see some action from pro-gun rights organizations.
On Wednesday, both the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a review of lower court decisions regarding Mexico’s attempts to impose its gun-control preferences on Americans.
“Mexico’s frivolous lawsuit to impose its draconian disarmament policies is a bald attempt to wage war on peaceable Americans and our constitutionally protected rights,” FPC President Brandon Combs said in a release announcing filing of the brief.
Gun Review – The Rossi Brawler
Cheap, silly guns will always be my favorite firearms genre. Sure, sometimes they don’t work all that well, and other times they aren’t all that useful. When they work, they tend to be a fun way to turn money into noise. One of the latest to cross my path was the $200 Rossi Brawler. Taurus owns Rossi, and Taurus is the master of the .410 handgun. The new Rossi Brawler is just that, a .45 colt/.410 handgun.
Continue reading Gun Review – The Rossi Brawler at The Truth About Guns.
NY Congresswoman Seeks to Outlaw Civilian Body Armor
In more anti-everything wackiness from the Empire State, New York Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng apparently wants to make it easier for criminals to shoot you. Meng has reintroduced legislation – for the third time – that would ban civilian body armor if it can defeat rifle ammunition.
Meng’s bill, H.R. 3247, which is titled the “Aaron Salter, Jr., Responsible Body Armor Possession Act,” would ban the “purchase, ownership, or possession of enhanced body armor by civilians.”
The bill defines enhanced body armor as having the ballistic resistance that meets or exceeds Level III standards as defined by the National Institute of Justice.
Continue reading NY Congresswoman Seeks to Outlaw Civilian Body Armor at The Truth About Guns.
Reformer Victory in NRA Election Doesn’t Mean The Job Is Done
A few days ago, the NRA had a change in leadership. With Executive VP Wayne LaPierre resigning from the organization amid scandal and resulting court turmoil, the top seat in the organization along with several others was up for election. The EVP slot went to Doug Hamlin, who previously ran NRA Publications. The first and second VP positions (below the EVP) also went to reformers.
This obviously leaves the organization in a position to fix itself, focus better on the gun rights and training missions and perhaps even avoid a court-appointed monitor.
GOP Senators Challenge Biden Administration’s ATF Rule on Gun Sales
Republican Senators are pushing back against the Biden administration rule that broadens the definition of who must register as a federal firearms dealer, arguing it imposes unconstitutional restrictions on gun sales.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule, which they claim effectively enstates universal background checks. Grassley accused the ATF of overreach, saying, “The Biden administration’s ATF is making a brazen attempt to skirt Congress and the Constitution.
Potential Sale of U.S. Ammo Maker Sparks National-Security Concerns
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the proposed $1.91 billion sale of Minnesota-based Vista Outdoor’s ammunition business to Czech company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has sparked national-security concerns among U.S. lawmakers. Vista is the owner of multiple ammunition companies such as Federal, Remington and CCI and highlights worries about allowing foreign control in a critical industry during global arms shortages.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senator J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) have urged the Treasury Department to block the sale, citing alleged ties between CSG and China and Russia.
Olight Releases the Osight Rechargeable Red Dot Sight
Olight is best known for flashlights of all sorts, although they do have a line of knives and tools also. If you’ve been in the online gun community for more than a minute, you’ll know their lights are a bit controversial due to a light exploding a number of years back. It was more likely than not a CR123A battery issue rather than a light issue, but the internet never lets facts get in the way of a good meme, or lets a bad reputation die.
Continue reading Olight Releases the Osight Rechargeable Red Dot Sight at The Truth About Guns.
Federal Judge Blocks Biden Administration’s Gun Show Background Check Rule in Texas
A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule that would require all firearms sellers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores in Texas. The rule aims to close a loophole allowing unlicensed sellers to sell firearms without background checks.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued the ruling last Friday, preventing the federal government from implementing the rule in Texas and for several gun-rights groups, including Gun Owners of America (GOA).
Course Review: John Murphy / FPF Training’s ‘Street Encounter Skills and Tactics’
Chicago has an armed robbery and carjacking problem. We all know that.
“But I don’t live in that urban hellscape known as Chicago, so I don’t have to worry about that so much,” most readers might say.
That mental denial response has no survival value. Bigger cities see more bad guys, but they work in every locale. And why not? Many see little worry of arrest, prosecution or incarceration in the Land of Lincoln for committing serious crimes.