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Firearms Resources

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Page Contents:     General Notes
Other Online Resources
US Bill of Rights, Second Amendment    
US Data & Government Agencies
UN & International Data
Canadian Data
UK Data
Australian Data
Swiss Data		 Other Data
Articles
Ammunition
Self-Defense
Guns
Supplies
Organizations
Opinion, Miscellaneous Thoughts    

General Notes

  • These are links to authoritative resources for information and data related to firearms (including ownership, self defense, concealed handgun use, victimization, crime rates, mortality rates).
  • Mortality data use an international system supported by U.N. World Health Organization. ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems), categories related to firearms: W32-W34, X72-X74, X93-X95, Y22-Y24

Other Online Resources

US Bill of Rights, Second Amendment

  • Second Amendment text (copied from official National Archives web site): “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
  • Opinions of the Founders relevant to the Second Amendment
    • Thomas Jefferson
      • No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
      • The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.
      • And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
      • Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants, they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.
      • When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
    • George Washington
      • Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.
      • The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.
    • James Madison
      • Americans have the right and advantage of being armed — unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.
    • John Adams
      • Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion… in private self-defense.
    • Noah Webster
      • Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed. . . . The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power — and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination — to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive.
    • George Mason
      • To disarm the people [is] the best and most effectual way to enslave them.
    • Patrick Henry
      • Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?
      • The great object is that every man be armed.
    • Samuel Adams
      • Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.
      • The Constitution shall never be construed… to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.
    • Thomas Paine
      • Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property… Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.
  • Court Rulings and Legal Interpretations of Second Amendment
    • The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on 26 Jun 2008 (Disctirct of Columbia v. Heller): “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”
    • On 28 Jun 2010 in McDonald v. Chicago, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the reach of the Second Amendment beyond the federal government to apply also to states, counties, and cities.
    • Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution Senate Subcommittee report, Feb 1982, “The Right to Keep and Bear Arms” — historical investigation of founders’ intent for 2nd amendment, meaning of “militia” & relevant Supreme Court decisions. 22 pages.
    • FindLaw web site Overview of relevant Supreme Court rulings.
  • General thoughts & opinions regarding Second Amendment (some items original, some borrowed from other writings)
    • Key phrase, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,” clearly refers to “the people” rather than governments or agencies
      • The First Amendment clearly refers to “the right of the people peaceably to assemble . . . .”
      • The Fourth Amendment refers to “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects . . . .”
      • The Tenth Amendment clearly distinguishes between the United States, the States and the people
      • “The people” refers to individual citizens as well as groups of individuals, either formal or informal.
      • To claim that “the people” refers only to a group and not individuals would mean the First Amendment protects only the right of groups of people and not individuals to petition the government; no more personal letters to your Congressman. Likewise, the Fourth Amendment would only protect groups of people and not individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.
      • Conclusion: “The people” refers to individual citizens as well as groups of citizens, never governments or agencies; to claim otherwise is to distort the very clear language of the Bill of Rights.
      • “The people” (individuals as well as groups of citizens) are recipients of rights, not governments or agencies. Consider the Ninth Amendment: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
      • Historical records show the phrase, “for the common defense,” was suggested but soundly rejected as a qualifier for “the right to keep and bear arms.” Such language would have severely restricted the use of private firearms, but the proposal was rejected and individual liberty was preserved.
    • Key phrase, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State”
      • The text clearly shows relationship between Militia and State. A search of the Constitution and Bill of Rights clearly shows the word “State” (singular form) never refers to the United States or nation as a whole; rather, to one of the several states. Another search shows militias were formed by the individual states and were called upon by the federal government only for the common defense.
      • Historical records show that militias consisted of individual citizens (specifically adult white males, in most cases) who responded as needed and provided their own firearms.
      • Constitution of the State of Virginia, Article I, Section 13: “That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
      • Second Militia Act, passed 8 May 1792 by the U.S. Congress (excerpts):
        • “That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia, by the Captain or Commanding Officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizen shall reside, and that within twelve months after the passing of this Act.”
        • “That every citizen, so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch, with a box therein, to contain not less than twenty four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of power and ball; or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and power-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a power [sic] of power; and shall appear so armed, accoutred and provided, when called out to exercise or into service, except, that when called out on company days to exercise only, he may appear without a knapsack.”
      • Op/Ed, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 27 Nov 2007 (“Listen to Reason: The Bill of Rights Is a Package Deal”): “But historical evidence shows the militia was, and still is, nearly the whole of the adult populace. (Even D.C.’s own militia ordinance reads that way.) Now consider a parallel construction — the statement, ‘A well-fed marching band being necessary to the amusement of a free state, the right of the people to grow and eat crops shall not be infringed.’ Gun-control advocates would say that sentence means only the marching band can grow food. But that is clearly not what it means.”
      • Even if the Second Amendment were only to allow the establishment of militias, the wording still supports private ownership of arms.
    • Key word, “keep”
      • This refers to ownership and in no way implies a collective right, as in state or private militias.
    • Does changing technology make the Second Amendment obsolete?
      • The citizens who fought the occupying British forces used their personal weapons, the latest technology of the day and equivalent to that of the occupying soldiers’ muskets.
      • Does changing technology (radio, TV, satellites, cell phones, the Internet) make the rest of the Bill of Rights obsolete?
      • Or does changing technology simply affect the way individuals practice their rights as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and elsewhere in the Constitution?

US Data & Government Agencies

UN & International Data

Canadian Data

UK Data

  • National Statistics
  • The Failed Experiment, Gun Control & Public Safety in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, Gary Mauser, 2003
  • Effects of 1997 broad ban on firearms (over .22 caliber)
    • initial drop in mortality rate, then increase
    • BBC News : Handgun crime “up” despite ban (Jul 01). Excerpts: “A new study suggests the use of handguns in crime rose by 40% in the two years after the weapons were banned. . . . This research, commissioned by the Countryside Alliance’s Campaign for Shooting, has concluded that existing laws are targeting legitimate users of firearms rather than criminals. . . . Examples of illegally manufactured guns include screwdrivers being adapted to fire off one round.”
    • Sky News : London gun crime up 90% (Dec 01) [invalid link]. Excerpts: “Revenge killings among drug gangs have fueled an explosion in gun murders in Britain. According to latest figures the number of gun murders in London has leapt by 90% this year. . . . At least two people a day are now robbed at gunpoint in London.”
    • BBC News : A country in the crosshairs (Jan 02). Excerpts: “While Britain has some of the toughest firearms laws in the world, the recent spate of gun murders in London has highlighted a disturbing growth in armed crime. . . . Between April and November 2001, the number of murders in the Metropolitan Police area committed with a firearm soared by almost 90% over the same period a year earlier. Armed street robberies rose, in the same period . . . an increase of 53%. . . . Although all privately-owned handguns in Britain are now officially illegal, the tightened rules seem to have had little impact in the criminal underworld.”
    • CNN : UK to tighten firearms laws (Jan 03). Excerpts: “People illegally owning or using firearms will face a minimum five-year prison sentence, the UK Home Secretary David Blunkett has said. . . . Blunkett said: ‘While we already have some of the toughest gun laws in the world, there has been an unacceptable increase in the flagrant use of guns in crime across the country. . . . Evidence from the Street Crime Initiative has shown that the problem of possession of handguns lies predominantly with young people who carry weapons for self-protection or as a means of gaining respect or revenge, often related to dealing in or the use of drugs. . . . Figures set to be released by the Home Office are to show that gun crime has doubled since Labour won power in 1997. . . . A total handgun ban was rejected by parliament but legislation was brought in to ban guns above .22 caliber and to restrict smaller caliber weapons to secure gun clubs. . . . [Britain's leading police officer wrote in a British tabloid,] ‘This culture of mindless violence, which has sprung partly from the increasing influence of Jamaican and American culture and the glorification of gang warfare, must be stopped.’”
    • Sky News : Violent Crime on Rise (Apr 05) [invalid link]. Excerpts: “Violent crime recorded by police rose 9% in the final three months of 2004 . . . . Firearms offences rose 10% to 11,082 in the year to December compared with 2003.” (Offenses in several categories fell during the same period.)
  • It was inevitable:
    • BBC News 26 May 05. Excerpts: U.K. Accident & Emergency Medicine “doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing. . . A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on the increase — and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings. . . The researchers said there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all. . . They consulted 10 top chefs from around the UK, and found such knives have little practical value in the kitchen. . . The researchers say legislation to ban the sale of long pointed knives would be a key step in the fight against violent crime.”
    • New York Times News Service (newspaper), British doctors lobby for knife-control laws (27 May 05). Excerpts: “Doctors who authored an editorial in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal have called for knife reform. The editorial, ‘Reducing knife crime: We need to ban the sale of long, pointed kitchen knives,’ notes that the knives are being used to stab people . . . . The authors of the essay call for laws requiring knife manufacturers to redesign their wares with rounded, blunt tips.”
    • My opinion: People who advocate such bans are in denial. The problem is failure to address human nature, not the presence of an object someone might use to harm another. What’s next? Banning rocks, automobiles and water? Fists?

Australian Data

Swiss Data

  • Why Switzerland has the lowest crime rate in the world, Youtube video (Switzerland). Quote: “The key to freedom is the ability . . . to defend yourself. And if you don’t have the tools to do that, then you are at the mercy of whoever wants to put you away. And the tools for that are guns.”

Other Data

  • Brazilians reject gun ban (24 Oct 05, Associated Press). Brazilians rejected a proposal yesterday to ban guns, striking down the bid to stem one of the world’s highest firearm murder rates. “While supporters argued that gun control was the best way to stanch the violence, opponents played on Brazilians’ fears that the police can’t protect them. . . . With more than 92 percent of the votes in a national referendum counted, 64 percent of Brazilians were opposed to the ban, while 36 percent backed it. . . . The proposal would have prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition except for police, the military, some guards, gun collectors and sports shooters. It would complement a 2003 disarmament law that sharply restricts who can legally purchase firearms and carry guns in the street.”
  • Note: The Brazilians were right that “the police can’t protect them.” Not only is it impossible for police to protect all the citizens, it isn’t their job.

Articles

Ammunition

  • Frangible and/or lead-free ammo (9mm, light/medium weight bullet, standard load)
    • Non-toxic training ammo NJ Division of Criminal Justice, Attorney General Guidelines: Non-toxic Training Ammunition; excellent study
    • Cor-Bon (Product menu: Glaser Safety Slug) special thin-wall jacket, precision compressed lead shot core with a soft polymer tip
    • Frangible Bullets lead-free, frangible
    • International Cartridge Corp frangible, non-toxic
    • “Firing line safe” (heavy metal free primers & totally encapsulated lead core projectiles to greatly reduce lead powder during firing)(note: “low recoil” failed NJ Criminal Justice guidelines because did not have recoil comparable to service ammo)
      • Federal Ballistic Clean 100 gr (low recoil)
      • Remington UMC leadless 115 gr
    • “Total non-toxic environment” (toxin free primer, lead-free projectile, fine fragmentation upon impact with rigid surface)
      • Delta 115 gr
      • International Greenline 100 gr
      • Remington Disintegrator 105 gr (low recoil)
  • Self defense ammo (9mm), recommended by others
    • Cor-Bon (Product menu: Traditional JGP) 115 gr +P JHP; powerful, high velocity, very highly regarded for self defense
    • Federal 124 gr Hydra-Shok; excellent, standard pressure
      • unique center-post design delivers controlled expansion
      • notched jacket provides efficient energy transfer to penetrate barriers while retaining stopping power
    • 147 gr ammo is not suitable in 9mm pistol; not recommended

Self-Defense

  • Massad Ayoob books, audio/video
  • A Christian Perspective of Self Defense Bible study by Larry Fox
  • “Virginia is a stand-your-ground state. But not just in your ‘castle,’ but everywhere you might be. As long as you are not ‘part of the problem,’ you can stand your ground and defend yourself. If you end up killing your assailant, it is considered a ‘justifiable homicide.’ If you are part of the problem, say you yelled an expletive at someone who cut you off in traffic, and you are attacked, then you must retreat as far as you can, indicate you have given up the fight, and only if the assailant keeps up the attack, may you defend yourself. In that case if the assailant dies, it is considered an ‘excusable homicide.’ Also, you can only use deadly force to protect yourself or others when you reasonably fear death or grievous bodily injury. You cannot use deadly force to protect property or against a trespasser.” (excerpt from VA-ALERT, VCDL newsletter, 4Jan12).

Guns

Supplies

Organizations

  • GOA Gun Owners of America
  • NRA National Rifle Association
  • NRA-ILA NRA Institute for Legislative Action
  • USCCA U.S. Concealed Carry Association

Opinion, Miscellaneous Thoughts

  • The Second Amendment will not be needed unless someone tries to take it away.
  • Zero tolerance for firearms
    • Why not zero tolerance for automobiles? Compare mortality rates due to firearms (1 in 306) and vehicular accidents (1 in 88). We could reduce the national speed limit to 35 mph to reduce deaths and save fuel, but virtually no one would find this acceptable. Our unwillingness to eliminate everything that might kill someone shows the issue really is not loss of a single life as much as it is personal preferences. Some people don’t like guns, so they wish to eliminate them for everyone. There are things I do not tolerate, but would you be willing to live your life by my preferences? No? Then please do not ask me to live mine by yours.
  • Gun control
    • Under gun control laws, law-abiding citizens become helpless victims.
    • “Gun control defined: The theory that people who are willing to ignore laws against rape, torture, kidnapping, theft and murder will obey a law which prohibits them from owning a firearm.” — Unknown
    • Criminals don’t obey gun control laws.
    • Gun control is about control, not guns.
    • Where have gun laws reduced crime?
    • Punish criminals, not gun owners.
    • The best gun control is getting your gun back on target quickly.
  • Self defense
    • “Any law that makes self defense illegal or impractical is an illegitimate law, because such a law ultimately subjects people to the criminal element.” (Larry Pratt, Gun Owners of America)
    • Self defense is both a right and a responsibility.
    • When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
  • Those who prefer Australia or England’s gun control and higher crime rates are free to emigrate. Don’t try to duplicate their failed systems here.
  • N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg should be arrested along with the people he hired to break the law making straw purchases of firearms.
  • If guns cause crime, then keyboards cause misspelled words, matches cause arson, and kitchen utensils cause obesity.
  • I don’t shoot to kill; I shoot to save life.
  • Assault is a behavior, not a device.
  • Free people can own and use guns; subjects and slaves cannot.
  • Fight crime: shoot back.

2 Responses to Firearms Resources

  • william O. chase says:
    January 5, 2012 at 11:13 am

    Very exhaustive work. Thanks, Larry

    Reply
  • Leanne says:
    January 20, 2012 at 11:09 am

    Thank you for your webpage. My husband, a group of our friends, and myself are trying to start a hunting club in our area. I wanted to put together a resource list to help us all get started. Your page had some great gun resources for this. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

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