For state by state laws and reciprocity maps, see
handgunlaw.us.
FBI statistics indicate that firearm use for self-defense
outnumbers criminal firearm use 4-to-1. Of the 2.1 million times firearms are
used in self-defense annually, 1.9 million cases involve handguns, and 10 percent involve
women fending off sexual predators. Also according to FBI numbers, there were an
estimated 83,425 forcible rapes reported to law enforcement in 2011. Females age
16 to 24 have the highest likelihood of becoming the victim of rape — two to
three times higher.
Suppose there were a constitutional amendment that said, “A well-educated
electorate, being necessary to the self-governance of a free state, the right of
the people to keep and read books shall not be infringed.” Who would doubt that
such an amendment protected a right to possess all books and to read books for
purposes other than civic self-betterment? Our National
Anthem
Sung before a basketball game at Cactus Jr. High by girls, two
six years old, two seven years old, and one eight year old, 3.9 mb video..
when viewed in that order, will tell a brief pictorial and chronological history of the handgun.
Pictured above is the smooth
bore flintlock musket of .75 caliber developed by the British Army and
epitomized by the Second Land Pattern of 1763. From about 1450 to 1600,
the earlier matchlock musket not only liberated the common man from feudal
knights in armor, but also enabled the Spanish to enslave the New World.
Thereafter, and for over two hundred years, the flintlock ignition system became
a free man's guaranty of survival. Although the smooth bore lacks
reasonable accuracy past 50 yards, an embedded British journalist during the
French and Indian war at Quebec witnessed its devastating effectiveness in the
hands of masses of trained soldiers, each of whom could load and fire at the
rate of three times per minute. Its barrel browned by an acid treatment to
retard corrosion, it was affectionately called "Brown Bess" by the British
Regulars, probably in honor of Elizabeth I, "Queen Bess." The American colonists
used it with shot for bird hunting and a. round ball for meat and defense. Since
a pound of lead yielded about twelve balls, the bore size was later referred to
as twelve gauge. This arm and the worldwide power of the Royal Navy helped
coin the adage, "The sun never sets on the British Empire."
The fully functional replica of
this historical legend is available for purchase in the black powder section
under firearms. Easy to load, fun to shoot, at 78 inches, with bayonet, it requires a
large fireplace mantel for display.
In an
effort to reduce gun violence nationwide, Attorney General Eric Holder said
today that the Obama administration will reinstate the Clinton-era assault
weapons ban that expired in 2004, adding new provisions to make it even more
effective at saving lives. Under the revised rules, people who intend to commit
crimes with stolen guns, for example, will first need to register those weapons
with the federal government. "Guns don't kill people," said Mr. Holder,
"Unregistered, stolen guns kill people. Once we have a list of all of the guns
owned by potential criminals, it will be much easier to track down the origin of
a weapon that's been used in a robbery or murder." The Justice Department plans
to open illegal gun registration kiosks in pawn shops, urban parking garages,
dark alleys, and abandoned buildings in high-profile locations to make the
registration process "as easy and painless as possible."
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