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AK: How old is old enough for a youngster to get their first gun?
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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When my dad brought the oblong package, wrapped with Frosty the Snowman Christmas paper, into the living room, my heart skipped a beat. The year was 1966 and the package could only be one thing. When dad walked across the living room and handed it to my brother, I wasn't surprised.

Having an older brother, I was used to him having and doing things a year before me. I even remember being excited waiting for the third grade when I would finally have homework; perhaps I was a strange little kid.

Half the firearms in the U.S. are owned by 3% of gun owners, and that means trouble for the NRA
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Half the guns in the U.S. are owned by 3% of gun owners. So says a revelatory new study on the demographics of gun ownership by Harvard Public Health researchers. These �superowners,� as some have dubbed them, own on average 17 guns apiece. The study also points out that the share of Americans who own a gun has fallen from 25% to 22% in the last 20 years, even as the population as a whole has grown and gun sales have boomed. Clearly a lot of the same people keep buying the guns.

The Cannabis Exception to the Second Amendment Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
If you want to buy a gun from a federally licensed dealer, you have to fill out Form 4473, which is aimed at determining whether you are legally allowed to own a firearm. A recent revision to the form by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) underlines how blithely the federal government strips Americans of their Second Amendment rights.

AL: Ohio State proves we need campus carry
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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In light of this week�s news of yet another school tragedy, I cannot help but think it right to stress the point of the need for trained and legally permitted students to be able to carry a weapon on campus. In case you did not hear of the latest event, a crazed man drove his car into a crowd of students on the Ohio State University campus on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. He then proceeded to exit the vehicle and stab multiple students causing a campus-wide emergency shut down.

Black Friday�s biggest seller? Hint � it uses bullets
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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For the second year in a row, guns were at the top of many Black Friday shopping lists.

Al.com reports that 185,713 background checks needed for the legal purchasing of guns were processed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on Friday, Nov. 25, the Friday after Thanksgiving which is commonly known as Black Friday. This means that about 400 more people applied for background checks than on Black Friday in 2015. The system is checked through the FBI.

Yes, NBC, I Want My Self Defense Advice From Waitresses! Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
I�m so glad that with all the craziest going on in the world that we can rely on NBC News national investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen calling on self defense experts to teach our wives, mothers, and daughters how to defend themselves, and by �experts�, I of course mean waitresses with smart phones.

CO: Personal protection parties: How one Colorado woman is changing self-defense, one party at a time
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Move over Mary Kay, Tupperware, Pampered Chef and all those parties you reluctantly say yes to -- and make room for a new type of at-home party experience.

Kate Lusk, a Littleton stay-at-home mom with three little kids, says she has come up with a new niche for home parties -- selling self-defense weapons to women.

Lusk, who was looking to make money, said She tried the other type of at-home parties and found self-defense a much easier sell.

NC: Boiling Spring Lakes shooting determined act of self-defense
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A dispute over a lost dog that escalated into a shooting that injured one person Friday night has been determined an act of self-defense.

Officers with the Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department responded to a shooting at 10:05 p.m. Friday in the area of Bet Lane and New Hanover Road, where they found a victim suffering from a gunshot wound.

According to a release, prior to the shooting, William Christman, 28, of Ladson, S.C., was with a group of hunters who were looking for a hunting dog using a GPS device. The device had indicated the area of Bet Lane as the last location of the dog.

LA: Gun control won't stop violence
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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N.O. Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said there were more than 30 officers on the block when the mass shooting on Bourbon Street erupted early Sunday morning � and only months before the City Council had passed a brand new set of gun restrictions � but neither of these measures prevented Sunday morning's shooting. So what is the lesson? It is this:

Putting police on the street and telling criminals they must follow gun control laws will not stop a criminal from committing a crime. Criminals ignore laws, period. It is foolish and naive to think that you will make them obey laws by passing new ones.

TX: NRA Applauds the Pre-Filing of Senate Bill 16
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Nichols pre-filed the measure today and it has been assigned a coveted low bill number, Senate Bill 16, indicating its priority status for Lt. Gov. Patrick. An original License To Carry in Texas currently costs $140 -- a fee which has not changed since the state's Right To Carry law took effect 20 years ago, despite advances in technology and the passage of several laws streamlining the application process.

Ed.: SB 16 "[the department would] establish application and renewal fees in amounts sufficient to cover the cost of administering this section". So TX still wants to charge you for exercising a fundamental right.

OH: Bill to allow concealed carry on college campuses up for vote
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Safety on college campuses is on many people's mind, especially after Monday's shooting on the campus of The Ohio State University.

The Ohio Senate is set to vote on a bill Wednesday allowing people in "vulnerable areas," including students, to carry concealed weapons.

The bill already passed in the House and now just needs 17 votes from the state senate to head to the governor's office.

The bill would make it legal in the state of Ohio for college campuses to allow students to carry around concealed weapons.

WV: Tomblin Cites Concerns Over Gun Law in Teen's Death
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Police say the black 15-year-old was fatally shot by William Pulliam, a 62-year-old white man, after they bumped into each other outside a store and twice exchanged words.

Pulliam in a jail interview said he shot in self-defense.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Pulliam pleaded no contest in a 2013 domestic violence case and wasn't allowed to have a gun.

Tomblin, who leaves office in January, says Means' death brings his abiding concerns about the law "into sharp focus once again."

Brace yourself; Hollywood�s latest move against guns is a big one Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There is 1 comment on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Hollywood is at it again campaigning hard for another politically themed movie pushing an anti-Second Amendment agenda this time in the new flick Miss Sloane, starring Jessica Chastain. Miss Sloane follows the story of star Jessica Chastain�s character who is portrayed as one of Washington�s most respected and hardest hitting lobbyists.

Levi Strauss CEO Asks Gun Owners Not to Bring Weapons Into Stores
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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But the tense political climate hasn�t stopped Levi Strauss & Co from asking customers to refrain from bringing guns into its U.S. stores even when local law allows them to.

Levi Strauss Chief Executive Chip Bergh made the request in an open letter to customers posted on LinkedIn on Wednesday, aware of the potential to anger many customers, and is seeking to reassure them by saying the move is all about safety and not a political statement.

�It�s not an anti-Second Amendment thing,� Bergh told Fortune in an exclusive interview. The denim apparel maker stopped short of issuing an outright ban on firearms.

Ruger ARX Ammunition by Polycase Provide a Real Bang for Your Buck
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The lower than normal sectional density (SD) of the lightweight ARX bullet decreases penetration compared to heavier for caliber, non-expanding bullets (FMJ, hard lead or solid copper).

This reduces the potential for collateral damage due to over-penetration when compared to conventional non-expanding bullets.

However, compared to typical JHP expanding bullets, ARX bullets exhibit increased penetration.

Tests in 10 percent ordnance gelatin confirmed that penetration was 10 percent to 50 percent greater than selected JHP ammo.

Civil Rights Advocates Record More Than 800 Post-Election Racial Incidents
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Such incidents have encouraged many people of color to think about buying weapons for self-defense. Gun store owners say the number of Black and minority customers they�ve seen has quadrupled since the election. In addition, Black gun groups are reporting double the normal number of attendees at their meetings.

�Most folks are pretty nervous about what kind of America we�re going to see over the next 5-10 years,� Philip Smith, founder of the National African American Gun Association told NBC News.

Ed.: We heartily welcome all new gun owners.

The latest research on rampage shootings shows gunmen rarely target gun-free zones
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The study draws from research conducted by one of its authors, Louis Klarevas, who in his book, Rampage Nation: Securing America from Mass Shootings , examined 111 shootings between 1966 to 2015 that left six or more people dead. Of these gun massacres, 93 occurred in gun-allowing zones, or places where there is no evidence that civilian guns are banned.

Klarevas�s research also found that armed civilians almost never prevent or stop rampage attacks � no matter where they occur.

�Gun Violence� �Active Shooter� � Taking Back The Language
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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By now you�re very well aware of the Ohio State University terror attack. Yes, that�s what it was, even though as of this writing the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the investigation into whether or not it was a terror attack, continues.

Of course, we know better; Somali Islamist rams his car into a crowd of people, gets out swinging a knife. He may as well have been carrying a binder titled, �My ISIS Playbook.� Um, yeah, it�s a terror attack.

Liars in Lab Coats � How Our Tax Dollars Should NOT Be Spent
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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We all know that the gun control community has co-opted the phrase �common sense.�

What is �common sense� to them, is foolishness to us.

It may be common sense for the gun control folks to want taxpayers to fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention�s (CDC) anti-firearm research efforts.

But it�s foolish and counterproductive for us to permit the CDC to engage in fake science again, as they did in the past.

CA: An Important Update From The Calguns Foundation
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The Calguns Foundation�s fight for your gun rights has never needed you more than it does right now.

Despite a disappointing summer and the passage of Prop. 63, it was gun rights supporters who made the difference this month to help elect Donald Trump President and backed up him with a pro-gun Congress who will ensure that his judicial appointments will be ardent defenders of the Second Amendment.

Family Has No Hard Feelings After Clerk Kills Son During Armed Robbery
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A food store clerk shot and killed an armed man who allegedly tried to rob him Saturday, and the deceased individual�s family says they have no hard feelings over the clerk�s actions.
The alleged armed robbery incident occurred in Orange Park, Florida, late Saturday night.

According to CBS 47, Clay County deputies say 29-year-old William Smith walked into Prime Stop Food Store, pulled a gun, and attempted to rob the business. The clerk � a concealed carry permit holder � pulled his own gun and shot Smith.

NJ: Sweeping Attack on New Jersey Ranges, Gun Clubs, & Everyone Who Uses Them
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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On Monday, December 5 2016, at 2:00 p.m., the New Jersey Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee is scheduled to hear A4179 and A4180 � �suicide prevention� bills which have little actual impact on suicide but represent a massive attack on every shooting range in the state and every person who uses them. Please attend this critical hearing at the New Jersey State House Annex, 125 West State Street, Trenton NJ 08608 (room to be announced).

There isn�t a single gun owner, shooting range, gun club, instructor, hunter education student, or person trying the shooting sports for the first time who would not be impacted by these bills as presently written.

TX: Battle over gun rights to resume in 2017 session
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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History, and solid Republican majorities in both houses of the Legislature and the executive branch, suggest the gun rights proponents will remain on the offensive.

�It�s time in Texas to restore our Second Amendment rights to their originally intended level,� said state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, a Fort Worth-area Republican who last year spearheaded the successful open-carry bill.

This time, Stickland is the chief author of legislation supporters call �constitutional carry.� Unlike the open-carry bill, the new measure does not require a license � or the passing of a gun-safety test and the payment of a $140 fee for the license � to allow a handgun to be carried either openly or concealed.

NJ: Urgent! Legislation Puts Shooting Ranges in Crosshairs
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Shooting ranges as we know them may be a thing of the past if anti-gun politicians have their way in the Garden State. A pair of dangerous bills are scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee as early as Monday, December 5.

A.4179 and A.4180, sponsored by Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-28), require target shooters to produce a state issued ID along with an FID card or a purchase permit before using a range. New Jersey has been notorious for delaying issuance of those documents, and this bill would ban using ranges without such paperwork.

GOA: Tell Trump Petraeus Wrong Secretary of State Choice for Gun Owners
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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If Trump does not listen to those advising against that pick, that fighting is going to spread, with gun owners taking a lead. That�s because Petraeus broke his oath to the Constitution and joined with retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal and other veterans to form the Second Amendment-infringing Veterans Coalition for Common Sense. The group is part of retired Captain Mark Kelly�s and Gabby Gifford�s Americans for Responsible Solutions.

As with all things Opposite Day �progressive,� there�s nothing �common sense� or �responsible� about it.