My wife found a few rounds of .22LR in our washing machine. Apparently from a pocket in the shirt I was wearing at Appleseed last week.
Guess we should be thankful that we found them before they went in the dryer. (That’d have made for a potentially bad scenario. I don’t even know what would happen if one put a round in the dryer. And I am pretty sure I don’t want to find out – except in a controlled testing lab environment.)
- N.U.G.U.N.
PS – I kept the three rounds and the next time I go to the range I will find out if they still function after washing.
Yesterday, four police officers were shot and killed while sitting down at a Tacoma area coffee shop. A lone gunman caught the officers off guard. Two officers were hit immediately, a third while trying to stand up. The fourth killed while struggling with the assailant.
These were not civilians but highly trained and armed police officers who were killed in the line of duty. Neither their guns nor their badges were magic amulets, neither kept them safe. The Lakewood police department has in a single day lost four of it’s officers. However, all four of those officers led double-lives. All four of them were officers – but three were dads and one was a mother.
CCW Trainers put a lot of emphasis on “awareness” and one might be tempted to cite a lack of awareness on the part of the officers. Four officers caught flat-footed. However, condition “yellow” is just that. It’s a state of observance. Such observation may not always present red flags. In this case, where a felon was specifically out to kill himself a few cops. The mere milliseconds between the observation that the individual had just drawn a gun and his beginning to fire were not sufficient to allow the officers to react. Perhaps some things could have been done differently, perhaps better training could have improved reaction time. Regardless, even if everything had been done right one or two of those officers would have still been hit and likely killed.
There is no magic amulet. Never think because you have a gun, and know how to use it, that you are invincible. “A firearm is an equalizer, not a guarantee!”
Our prayers and condolences go out to the Lakewood police department, to the families of the slain officers and especially the children of those officers. And forgive me if part of my prayer is the hope that the shooter takes an abundance of gunshot wounds while being apprehended.
If that seems wrong, realize that this man had a long rap sheet beginning as a youth. Given clemency because of sympathy for his age and several additional breaks along the way. The result is as per usual – our legal system keeps releasing these predators back onto our streets until they kill our police officers. So I am sorry if I wish for this man to be taken off the streets by force, it is only because I do not trust our judicial system to remove such creatures from our streets.
The second day was mostly review followed by additional practice; with a lot of focus on NPOA.
We once again started out with an initial assessment target. I must confess, my results were not so good. I only managed one hit on the 100 yd target. However, my groups showed a somewhat different picture. All my shots were correspondingly low. By over-laying it over another target it fairly corresponded to three hits at the 100 yd target, three on the 200 yd, couple of near misses at 300 yd. And a possible head shot. So there was possibly the evidence of improvement.
Afterward we mainly drilled using the modified AQT targets. The course of fire for these were fairly standard.
5 shots from standing, on one large silhouette
10 shots on two medium sized silhouettes (5 on each) from sitting/kneeling position after transitioning* from a standing position. This involved a magazine change after the first two rounds.
10 shots on three small silhouettes (3 on 1st, 3 on 2nd, 4 on 3rd) from a prone position after transitioning* from a standing position. This two involved a magazine change after the first two rounds.
10 shots on 4 silhouettes from a prone position at relaxed pace using Rifleman’s cadence. (2 on the first two, three on the the second two.)
* All transitions required rifles to be unloaded and magazines on the ground. The range master would call “fire” and we would transition from standing to the required position. Picking up and loading our magazines only after the transition.
A score of 210 was required for designation as a “rifleman”. Four students earned a “rifleman” mark, and received a patch designating them such. I was not one of them. I saw gradual improvement throughout the second day, and was happy to see that I had made significant progress.
The culmination of the weekend was a final shoot on the “redcoat” target. On my final target I managed three rounds on the 100 yard target and three more on the 200 yard target. I only managed one hit on the 300 yard target. However, for the first time I was now “effective” at a given range – two even. And I was only an inch off from the 400 yard target and the head shot.
Not bad for a guy who suffers from computer programmer eyes. And has difficulties seeing the smaller silhouettes on the target even with glasses.
Additional Notes:
Throughout the weekend I had a number of technical issues. These mostly fell into two categories. Failure to fire and faulty magazines. On Saturday I had only a couple rounds that failed to fire. On Sunday I had half a dozen. Which is not uncommon in a bulk box of budget .22LR ammunition. As for the magazine issues - I only had one magazine for the 10/22 and had to borrow a few. The result was two factory ruger magazines, and two generic 30 round plastic magazines. The latter had a habit of falling out. But they were easier to remove during magazine changes.
I also had the opportunity to use a borrowed 10/22 equipped with the Tech Sights. I found them very affective. And I believe my perfect sights would be Tech Sights equipped with a fiber-optic front post.
It is my plan to attend additional Appleseed events in the future with the goal of achieving a “rifleman” score. Down the road I may even consider pursuing instructor certification with the RWVA.
Those who attend an Appleseed can join the RVWA and become eligible to participate in the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Qualifying for purchase of surplus rifles such as the M1 Garand. So if you are looking for a means to participate in CMP purchase. This may be an option for you. I believe membership in RWVP is $20/year.
For those wondering about the cost. The basic Appleseed weekend course is $70/person. However, it is free for women, those under 21 and those in the military.
Things I plan to do differently:
I hope to have Tech-Sights equipped on my rifle. (If I can equip it with one of these fiber optic front posts – all the better.)
Steel lipped magazines that do not fall out.
Staple gun
Speed loader
I greatly enjoyed the tie to American history. And I was glad that there were no overtones of “militia” or this being for the purpose of preparing for a future revolution. In fact, it felt more akin to my days of yesteryear with the Boy Scouts of America. What they did do is tie the 2nd Amendment to the 1st Amendment. They explained that our Founding Fathers gave us a third option. Instead of tyranny or revolution, we have the option to apply influence within a Republic. They encouraged us to train and hone those skills as well. That we need to be skilled with our 1st Amendment as well as our 2nd Amendment. Something I strongly advocate and that is an vocal point of the Six-Percenter Project that I have supported.
We advocates of the 2nd Amendment must also be equally skilled marksman with the tools of our 1st Amendment.
Final reflections
The Appleseed Project is an excellent “First Step” to rifle marksmanship. If you have training and skill already, you may still find it a useful tool for improvement – if not, maybe you should consider volunteering as an instructor. If you’ve been on the fence wondering if you should attend an Appleseed in your area, let me encourage you to jump and go for it!
“I attended an Appleseed and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!” – N.U.G.U.N.
The shirt was in fact pretty snazzy. And I walked away with a LOT more than just a shirt from my first Appleseed. Now onto the review…
The first thing we were instructed to do was to leave rifles in our vehicles until after the safety instruction.
The safety lesson focused on four rules. These were semi-specific to Appleseed and not the traditional four rules. They closely follow the NRA’s Gun Safety Rules.
1. Always keep muzzle pointed in a safe direction
This first one is a standard safety rule. Appleseed helps facilitate this by providing a painted firing line, and a second range line several feet behind.
Appleseed instructors are very diligent on ensuring that all rifles are kept safely pointed downrange. They go one step further in requiring students to keep the muzzles lined up just over the firing line and everything else being kept behind. This helps to ensure that no student is above or behind the muzzle of another student’s rifle.
I believe it’s a very good practice for teaching a large number of people who may or may not be familiar with firearms.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are sighted in and ready to fire.
Once again this is a pretty standard rule.
3. Do not load until the load command is given.
This is essentially a variant on the NRA’s third rule of keeping the gun unloaded until ready to use it. This change helps facilitate the control of loading to the instructor.
4. Observe your fellow students and ensure they are following the rules.
Appleseed encourages everyone to be aware of their fellow students and that their neighbors are acting in a safe manner according to the provided rules. They also inform students that any student is allowed to call out “ceasefire” initiating a stand down of all students at any time that they observe a situation that might affect safety.
I think that this is a very good instruction point. Though I believe it should be taken a step further. I would actually engage in a few practice calls by students to call out cease fire. Selecting those students who feel most timid.
Why do I advocate this? I have observed an interesting scenario on more than several occasions during fire alarm drills. People walk past the emergency exits choosing to proceed out through the standard exits; requiring longer routes. In fact was once told “You can’t go that way!” as I proceed out of an emergency exit during an alarm. We’re so ingrained NOT to go out such exits that even when we’re supposed to we fail to utilize them. While most of those cases were merely drills. We did find out later that one of them was in fact not a drill.
I strongly advocate empowering the individual in those matters that effect one’s safety. Empowering a student with the authority to declare a ceasefire situation is a good thing. Waiting for a student to flag down an instructor in order to call out a ceasefire will cause a delay that might result in an incident.
After the safety instruction we were given instruction in regards to the range commands. A call was given for “Preperation time has begun.” It was at this point, and only at this point that we could leave the safe zone demarked by a painted line and proceed to our rifles. At which point we were allowed to get into firing position and ready our rifles – except for loading.
Every student was given a chamber flag to demark their rifle as cleared.
The range master would then check with his fellow instructors calling out “ready on the right?” “ready on the left?” “all ready?”. At which point the command to “load your rifles” would be given. Only at this point was a rifle to have a round chambered. Finally the range master would call out the “fire” command.
One thing that was interesting is that the instructors endeavored NOT to use the word “fire” in speech during the shooting instruction period. Preferring to refer to it by the moniker “F-word”.
When the alloted time for shooting had ended. The range master would shout out “Ceasefire! Ceasefire! Ceasefire!” which would be ecoed down the line by the other instructors. Rifles were to be set down and hands removed at this time. Shortly thereafter the range master would instruct everyone to “make clear”.
The clearing process being remove magazine, clear chamber and lock open, turn on safety, place chamber flag indicator into rifle. Set rifle down ensuring the muzzle was about two inches over the firing line. Then step back and proceed out of the firing range area into the safety area. The instructors would then walk down the line and ensure everyone’s rifle had been made safe.
This procedure was pretty much replicated throughout the training. Often followed by a gathering for next bit of instruction.
So what does Appleseed teach?
***
Appleseed Training:
The Appleseed Program implements a method of initial assessment followed by instruction and constant re-assessment with the purpose of graduating “riflemen”.
First they have us shoot one of their custom targets which is based of the military AQT silhoutte except in red to represent the British regulars or “redcoats”. There are four target silhouette, each representing a different relative distance: 100 yds, 200 yds, 300 yds and 400 yds. With a fifth target that is small rectangle which represents an head size target at 250 yds. This first target becomes your initial assessment. They require three hits on a given silhouette to qualify as “effective” at the range – except for the head shot which requires a single shot.
I was not effective at any range. I landed two hits to the 100 yd target and one to the 400 yd – but that was probably more luck than skill.
Appleseed puts a lot of focus on the benefits of the use of a sling with riflery. One of the first marksmanship instruction we were provided was the use of a sling in the prone position.
We were shown how to attach the sling to our upper arm. Wrap our hand thru, and let the fore stock of the rifle rest in our hand. Bringing our left elbow underneath the rifle. Creating a triangle kept taught by the arm bones and the tension of the sling. Likewise we were shown how to bring our right leg up while extended our left. We would later be introduced to Natural Point of AIM or NPOA for short.
I was loosely familiar with the term. I understood that it was a reference to having your body’s position result in your firearm pointing toward the target naturally. But I had no knowledge of implementation and my few attempts at practicing such with a pistol were less than encouraging.
NPOA makes a lot more sense to me in reference to the prone position. And the use of the positioning of one’s body so that the relaxed or default state keeps the front sight on target.
We were also shown how our breathing affects sight acquisition. How in the prone position breathing causes the front sight to move up and down. And to key our shots to the point inbetween our breaths. As empty lungs makes for the most uniform position. So we were instructed to breath in and to breath out pausing briefly at the end of the exhale in order to fire. Later we would be instructed to make multiple shots in time with the sequence of breathing.
Breath-in, breath out, pause and shoot…
Breath-in, breath out, pause and shoot…
Breath-in, breath out, pause and shoot…
They referred to this as the rifleman’s cadence.
We would also be taught the basics of sling use and positioning in both the sitting and standing positions. The sitting position requires the resting of ones arms upon the outside of ones knees. I found that my complete lack of flexibility and inability to sit indian style since I was 4 yrs old makes the sitting position unwieldly and unusable for me. Instead I had to fallback on the “kneeling” position which is much less accurate. My accuracy suffered. But I did improve the technique by cantelevering my support arm and resting it against the inside of my left knee. This increased stability and allowed me to bring shots on target while kneeling. Where beforehand my shots were spread all over the place.
We would utilize a few other targets including a square sight-in target and a modified AQT (Army Qualification Test) target. Which have been scaled to correspond to a 25 yard range.
The instructors also explain why the range of 25 yards is used. How distance affects accuracy as you extend the angles out. Explaining the term Minute-of-Angle (MOA). Showing how the targets we are utilizing correspond to a 4 minute of angle at 400 yards. And how that corresponds to the size of an human torso.
By the end of the day I could see some noticeable improvement. When we reshot the “redcoat” target. This time I place two rounds in each of the 100 yd, 200 yd, and 300 yd targets. Still not enough to be considered “effective” at any of those ranges. But a noticeable improvement.
***
What is an American Rifleman?
If Appleseed was just about marksmanship, it’d be well worth the cost. However, Appleseed has another focus – education.
A large part of the Appleseed focuses on the history of the American Revolution. (Don’t worry, it’s not so much as to impede from the riflery training. Most of the history lessons are taught during breaks and lunch.)
Students are given an overview of some of the issues that led up to the American Revolution. Accounts of the battles of Lexington and Concord. How things went down. Why they went down differently in Concord. And the effect of marksmanship on the part of the American revolutionaries.
We also receive a few corrections to the traditional (mis)history many are taught in school. Such as Paul Revere’s famous ride calling out the “British are coming”. They explained that at the time all the colonials considered themselves British. It was not so much the British were coming but that the regulars are coming. Talked about how the right of the colonial leaders to assemble had been taken away. And that the British regulars were being sent out in order to disarm the colonials of their powder, arms and any cannon. And how these correspond to the productions of the 1st and 2nd Amendments.
I found the history a wonderful touch to the training. And am glad that it was included by Appleseed.
For those unfamiliar with Appleseeds; they are rifle marksmanship courses provided by the Revolutionary War Veteran Association (RWVA).
To quote the RWVA on the purpose of the Appleseed Program.
“The Appleseed Program is designed to take you from being a simple rifle owner to being a true rifleman. All throughout American history, the rifleman has been defined as a marksman capable of hitting a man-sized target from 500 yards away….This skill was particularly evident in the birth of our country, and was the difference in winning the Revolutionary War.”
DAY 0: Prep
Appleseeds actually require a fair amount of equipment. Nothing outlandish, but there are a number of items they recommend you bring.
Obviously, you will need access to a rifle and a box of ammo. It’s rather hard to be a rifleman without a rifle. Safety protection for eyes and ears is also a must.
There was a fair variety of rifles at the Appleseed I attended. But it is interesting to note that 80%-90% were chambered in .22LR. The fact that expending nearly 500 rounds in 2 days is rather costly with any other caliber is a strong influencing factor. At least half of the rifles I saw were based on Ruger’s 10/22 platform. Though there were a number of other .22LR, including a couple of folks utilizing a tube magazine on day one. Including the gentlemen next to me. On the second day he was using a 10/22.
Most of the 10/22 rifles were equipped with Tech Sights which replicate peep hole style battle sights.
Having just received my 10/22 on Thursday (special order as I wanted the longer 22″ barrel). I did not have the means to equip my 10/22 with Tech Sights. I found that I had much difficulty keeping my eye focused on the stock front sight. Which is black with a little brass pip. The curse of the computer programmer – bad eyes. Not being able to pick up Tech Sights locally I visited a semi-local BassPro shop and purchased some fiber optic TruGlo sights.
I have used fiber optic sights in the past and find them very helpful in getting focus to lock onto the front sight. The TruGlo sights are fairly simplistic offering very little opportunity to adjust the aiming point. Nor do they offer the modularity and replaceable fiber optic inserts that the Hi-Viz sights on my Ruger MKIII provide. But they were a significant improvement over the stock sights.
My next favorite item of equipment was the foam pad I picked up from Walmart. This helps save the knees and elbows. I also brought a tarp as the ground was rather damp from morning dew.
A lot of the training provided at Appleseed involves the use of a GI style web sling. I did not have one, but was able to borrow one from an Appleseed instructor.
A full list of items Appleseed recommends a student bring can be found here.
Friday night I was packed up, ready to go, with as much of the recommended equipment as I had readily available. (A staple gun would have been a nice addition. But I had already purchased one gun that week and I am not sure I could have swung a second one by my wife – not even a staple gun.)
For more info on the Appleseed Project visit Appleseedinfo.org or read my next couple of blog posts.
In this post I will be covering what I consider the three most important skills one should posses to increase their odds of winning a gunfight. While this post will be useful to any average Joe law abiding citizen that exercises his or her right to protect themselves and their loved ones, it will be geared more toward the Military or Law Enforcement reader that may find themselves in a prolonged engagement.
When I say prolonged I am talking about a fight that lasts long enough that the individuals involved will be required to not only react to the initial threat but to also make decisions on the changing situation and constantly evaluate the battlefield to gain the initiative. Both sides will run through multiple sources of ammunition and be forced to maintain their weapon and ability to keep rounds going down range.
For some of us our need is ultimately to not only survive but to win the engagement by forcing the enemy or suspect to cease hostile actions through violent actions.
I said WIN the fight, not survive. If I were in the average Joe scenario and found myself faced with a life threatening situation while accompanied by my family, my thought process and priorities would be a bit different than if I were back in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting with fellow Marines.
What I am getting at is; as a citizen with my family, my goal will be to ensure my families SURVIVAL.
On the other hand as a LEO or US Warfighter, we have a job to do, a task to accomplish if you will and simply surviving is not enough and just doesn’t get it done..
Applying the fundamentals of hitting the target is by far the most important skill to have in a fight. Its pretty simple really, no no I am not saying hitting the target is simple, in-fact sometimes hitting the target is extremely difficult even for the well trained. What is simple however, is the logic behind my statement. Us good guys have one thing in common with the bad guys. We are all allergic to bullets and getting hit with one or two or three… is exactly the opposite of what you or the bad guy wants to have happen in the gunfight.
Right now your probably thinking I should get on with it and stop just stating the obvious or your going to click the little X at the top right of your screen. I am stating the obvious because sometimes we need a reminder of the goal. I see and hear about people all the time who have the most tricked out gun, wear the latest gear and train by running around (or standing static) on a range just spraying led downrange and only making critical hits with a small percentage of their shots. To me this type or training is completely counter productive and all they are doing is creating bad habits. So feel free to postpone the ninja training until you are able hit the target consistently. Get the consistent accuracy down first then build on the delivery speed practically and as you speed up I am willing to bet that your accuracy will remain.
I hear the argument all the time about speed versus accuracy and I always say there is no argument. Speed and accuracy go hand in hand. Speed is important but not as important as a hit.
Still not convinced? Still say that speed is more important than accuracy? Then consider this, When is the last time you heard of someone killing a bad guy because they missed him really really fast?
Bottom line, rule 1 – is to hit the target. You just can’t possibly miss someone fast enough to kill them.
OK, so you’re in the fight and you have applied the fundamentals approximately 28 to 30 times while doing your best to get effective hits but considering your current situation (being shot at and having to fire in very awkward positions) the threats are still present. Assuming you are using a weapon that has a 30 round magazine it is now time to perform the second most important individual skill that you will use in a fire fight. Reloads!
There are two types of reloads you will be using in your fight. First there is the tactical reload or also known as condition one reloads. With a tactical reload you are simply keeping a round in the chamber and inserting a fresh magazine so your weapon is as full as possible for the next round of gunfighting.
Next we have speed or also known as a dry reload. Here the shooter is actively engaging the threat and the weapon runs out of ammo forcing you to get the weapon back up and running as fast as possible.
I can tell you from first hand knowledge that running dry in a fight can be either a scary thing or it can be a scary automatic thing. The goal is to make dry reloads second nature but a rare occurrence. I say rare because it is a heck of a lot better to reload when you want to reload vice when you have to reload. Of course in some situations there is no time to conduct tactical reloads, but if you do find yourself in a fight and there happens to be a lull in the action or you are about to make entry into a new room that may contain threats, a fresh mag is going to be much better than an almost empty one.
For the speed or dry reload your goal is to get the gun back in the fight as fast as you possibly can. It is as simple and as complicated as that.
Before we move on to our third skill I will take a second to cover something that I am sure some of you are thinking about. That would be the question of what do I do with my empty or not so full magazines during our two types of reloads?
First of all DO NOT EVER DIE FOR YOUR MAGAZINE but do your best to retain it if it has ammo in it or you are operating in an environment where you cannot replace the magazine for future fights. Now we could go into details about scenario after scenario and what to do in the zombie apocalypse but we are just going to leave it at don’t die for you mag but try to keep it. (there really is no reason to not retain used mags in a tactical reload unless you have to get on the trigger while conducting it)
Lastly, we have the least occurring yet most dreaded thing to have to do in a fight. (if it isn’t the least occurring I think its time to rethink your weapon of choice)
“The loudest sound on the battlefield is the sound of your hammer falling on the firing pin and nothing happening” -me
Clearing stoppages is the third skill we need to master and here are the types we need to worry about the most. Obviously some stoppages are much more common than others so when you are practicing clearing them you may want to spend more time on the most common ones. I have them ordered in most to least common.
Failure to feed/failure to fire. When this occurs you will hear that loud click of the hammer falling with no big boom after.
Double feed or brass/rounds obstructing the chamber. Easily identifiable because you can see that two pieces of matter are trying to occupy the same space but Newton says no no no and that makes your gun not work anymore or at least until you fix it.
A stove pipe is a stoppage that we need to train to clear even though it is a very very rare occurring stoppage.
If you are using a an AR type rifle, have fired a heck of a lot of rounds through your gun and god hates you, then there is a chance you have experienced a brass above bolt stoppage. ( I know God loves us all but this stoppage sucks so bad that Marines call it “god hates you”)
In this stoppages the brass of usually a non fired round will be lodged primer end first above the bolt, and you will have a very hard time pulling your charging handle to the rear. Despite how crappy this may sound or how bad it was when it happened to you. There is a an easy way to clear it and I will tell you how to get it cleared in 3 to 5 seconds on episode 019 of Gunfighter Cast.
(You can think of this as some kind of promo if you like, but truth be told I can tell you with my voice how to clear the stoppage much easier than I can type it.)
I will also elaborate on the other skills I covered and give you some different training techniques so you can be more proficient in these areas.
In summary. There are things that you are going to do if/when you get into a gunfight and you need to train so you can do them very well.
There is an old saying “the more you sweat in peace, the less you will bleed in war”. So get your sweating in now while working on these skills that way when you find yourself in a gunfight, not only will you survive and make it through the fight but you will overwhelm the enemy with uninterrupted accuracy and ensure that the good guys win.
The video article is not too bad – for CNN. (I must confess that I was expecting much much worse.) The reporter refers to a rifle that he shoots as a “semi-automatic” assault rifle. Which is a little better than the typical media “evil fully automatic assault weapon” spheel.
They also interview Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center (a very anti-gun organization) which put out the report on the return of the militas.
The interview records Mark Potok commenting on the increasing numbers of such groups and surge of activity. They don’t really let him say too much (which was nice)
, though he attempts to insinuate that it is all against Obama.
However, they allowed the militia members interviewed to give a very good rebuttal. One organizer stating that “This is not an Obama centered organization.” In fact the reporter comments that the organizer who is both a veteran and postal worker urges respect for the President.”
I liked that the article also stated how they practice first aid and emergency medical treatment, useful during natural disasters.
All in all, not a bad article. Although this is one of those cases where just covering ordinary people in fatigues with rifles is going to startle many ordinary citizens. Particularly those with liberal ideologies that believe individual rights should be removed in the greater good.
Castle Doctrine” Self-Defense Bill to be Considered Next Week! On Thursday, November 19, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee will consider House Bill 40. HB40, sponsored by State Representative Scott Perry (R-92), would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be. It is clearly stated that there would be no “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground to protect themselves and their family. HB40 would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is used. If you would like to testify, please contact the House Judiciary Committee at (717) 787-3525.
On Thursday, November 19, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee will consider House Bill 40.
HB40, sponsored by State Representative Scott Perry (R-92), would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be. It is clearly stated that there would be no “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground to protect themselves and their family. HB40 would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is used.
If you would like to testify, please contact the House Judiciary Committee at (717) 787-3525.
Please contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee TODAY and respectfully urge them to support HB40. Contact information can be found below.
State Representative Thomas R. Caltagirone (D-127)
(717) 787-3525
State Representative Deberah Kula (D-52)
(717) 772-1858
State Representative Kathy Manderino (D-194)
(717) 787-1254
State Representative John E. Pallone (D-54)
(717) 783-1819
State Representative Don Walko (D-20)
(717) 787-5470
State Representative Joseph F. Brennan (D-133)
(717) 772-9902
State Representative James E. Casorio Jr. (D-56)
(717) 783-3483
State Representative Paul J. Drucker (D-157)
(717) 705-2003
State Representative Bryan R. Lentz (D-161)
(717) 787-8574
State Representative Joseph A. Petrarca (D-55)
(717) 787-5142
State Representative Josh Shapiro (D-153)
(717) 783-7619
State Representative Greg Vitali (D-166)
(717) 787-7647
State Representative Chelsa Wagner (D-22)
(717) 783-1582
State Representative Ronald G. Waters (D-191)
(717) 772-9850
State Representative Jesse White (D-46)
(717) 783-6437
State Representative Ron Marsico (R-105)
(717) 783-2014
State Representative Mike Vereb (R-150)
(717) 705-7164
State Representative Tom C. Creighton (R-37)
(717) 772-5290
State Representative Will Gabig (R-199)
(717) 772-2280
State Representative Richard R. Stevenson (R-8)
(717) 783-6438
State Representative Glen R. Grell (R-87)
(717) 783-2063
State Representative Kate Harper (R-61)
(717) 787-2801
State Representative Tim Krieger (R-57)
(717) 260-6146
State Representative Bernie O’Neill (R-29)
(717) 705-7170
State Representative Todd Rock (R-90)
(717) 783-5218
State Representative Katie True (R-41)
(717) 705-7161
Urgent Alert: Ask Your U.S. Senators And Representative To Sign Amicus Brief Supporting Second Amendment Rights In The States!
Friday, November 13, 2009
As a critical Second Amendment case goes before the United States Supreme Court, U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Jon Tester (D-MT), and Congressmen Mike Ross (D-AR) and Mark Souder (R-IN) are gathering signatures for an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief by Members of Congress. And we need your support for this important effort next week.
The case is McDonald v. City of Chicago, and it will answer the question of whether the Second Amendment applies to the states—as the Congress clearly intended in the 1860s, when it adopted the Fourteenth Amendment to protect constitutional rights against abuse by state and local governments. This brief is an opportunity for today’s Congress to show just as clearly that it respects the Second Amendment’s importance to all Americans—not just residents of the District of Columbia and other federal territories.
The brief describes Congress’s debates on the Fourteenth Amendment, and points out the many occasions—from 1866 to 2005—when the Congress has spoken in favor of the Second Amendment as protecting a right of all Americans, and taken action to protect that right against actions such as gun confiscation and predatory lawsuits. It also makes the case for Congress’s interest (under its constitutional war powers) in preserving an armed citizenry as part of America’s national defense.
When Congress speaks, the Supreme Court listens. And it did in the historic Heller case last year when 55 Senators and 250 Representatives signed an amicus brief supporting the Second Amendment as an individual right. Now every Senator and Congressman who supports the rights of all Americans should step forward to be heard by signing this brief in the McDonald case.
The brief must be filed within the week, so we need your immediate help!On Monday through Thursday, please call your U.S. Senators and Representative, and urge them to sign on to this critically important brief, which will be a key part of the legal battle to protect the Second Amendment in the U.S. Supreme Court.
