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When do we Talk About Politics and Guns?
Submitted by: Rob Morse
Website: http://slowfacts.wordpress.com

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We have our priorities. Talking about politics and guns seems to slip off our priority list, and that carries a danger of its own. Carrying a firearm for your safety is a very rational choice, but..there is a �but.�

Unless you�re careful, you are also at risk of malicious prosecution for infringing one of our many gun laws. When is it time to talk about gun politics with new students and existing firearms owners?

2017 firearms legislative wins, losses in review Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
The first year of the Trump administration saw some forward movement at the federal level on gun rights issues while state legislatures were a mixed result.

The Self Defense Gun Stories You Don�t See in the Mainstream News
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Here is some news you won't find in the mainstream media. Again this week, responsible gun owners defend themselves and the people they love.

Self-defense instructor Jeff Street joins the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast to look at three new examples. Were these gun owners lucky, or were they trained and prepared? What can we learn from their experience? Listen and find out. (17 minute podcast)

All three victims survived lethal attacks because they had a gun.

NV: Pepper spray gives victim time to escape
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Pepper spray, also known as OC spray, OC gas and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent (chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain and temporary blindness) and can be used in self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears.

Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people using pepper spray for self-defense an opportunity to escape.

NV: What evidence is pertinent in Bundy trials?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Pardon us plebs, but we are a tad bit confused about just what is admissible evidence in the Bunkerville standoff trials.

This past week, about a month into the second of three scheduled trials, the judge declared a mistrial because the prosecution had failed to timely turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense.

Federal Judge Gloria Navarro listed six instances in which prosecutors willfully withheld evidence � including information about an FBI surveillance camera, documents citing the presence of snipers, certain maps, FBI logs, threat assessments that showed the Bundys weren�t violent and internal affairs documents detailing possible misdeeds by the Bureau of Land Management agent in charge, who was later fired.

NC: 233 people were shot in Durham this year. When violence �hits home�
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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As of Tuesday, 28 people had been killed in Durham in 2017 � including four cases deemed self-defense � a 38 percent drop compared to 2017.

But those numbers don�t tell the entire story of violent crime here. The number of people shot far exceeds those killed and continues to climb.

As of Dec. 12, a total of 233 people had been shot in 207 incidents in the city, up from 193 people shot in 2016 and 198 by the same time in 2015.

PA: �Stop-and-Frisk� of Gun Owners Opposed by Gun Rights Groups
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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�In this case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will be deciding whether the mere open or concealed carrying of a firearm � in the absence of any criminal conduct � is sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct,� attorney Prince explained. �Simply put, the Supreme Court intends to decide whether law-abiding citizens can be harassed and interrogated by police for merely open or conceal carrying a firearm.�

AR: Little Rock police alter slayings included in homicide total; justifiable killings omitted
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Little Rock police have altered what types of killings are included in the city's homicide total, a figure that has become a marker for a violent year in Arkansas' capital city.

The new way of tallying the killings has already lowered this year's homicide total and is expected to lower future yearly totals for the department.

Yet agency officials say the changes are not an attempt to change Little Rock's image as a violent city but, instead, are a move that allows them to fall in line with guidelines from the FBI.

"We're not trying to cook the numbers or make it look confusing. It sounds confusing, but it's straight on point with the FBI guidelines," said Lt. Michael Ford, a Little Rock police spokesman.

These Guns Are Made of Camera Gear
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Photographer Jason Siegel is still using old camera equipment to share an anti-violence message in a creative way. Since we featured his work at the beginning of 2017, Siegel has created even more guns and weapons of war using various cameras, lenses, and accessories for his project Shoot Portraits, Not People.

Here are some of Siegel�s latest pieces in the series, created in collaboration with sculptor Keith D�Angelo:

Beyond the Gun: 5 Other Methods of Effective Personal Defense
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The question was asked recently on social media, "Do you feel naked without your concealed carry gun?" If I relied on just a gun to keep me safe, yes, I would feel naked. Without my pistol, everything I rely on to keep myself and my family protected would be invested into that lump of metal and plastic on my hip, so if I didn�t have it on me, I�d be defenseless.

Fortunately for me (and my loved ones), this is nonsense. I don�t rely on my pistol to keep all of us safe. The pistol is just one method of protection, but it is far from the only method I have at my disposal. I don�t rely on my gun. My gun is there only to augment what I already know.

MN: Viridian Interviews Pro Shooter Sarah Cade In �Just The Facts� Episode 11 Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Viridian Weapon Technologies has released a new episode of �Just the FACTs,� featuring competitive pistol shooter Sarah Cade. In episode 11, Viridian sits down with Cade to discuss her background, Minnesota gun laws, advocacy, effective debating tactics and more. Like all �Just the FACTs� episodes, the interview was filmed with FACT Weapon-Mounted Cameras (WMC).

People lost in the gun community in 2017 Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
From Olympic medalists and Second Amendment advocates to outdoor writers and film stars, the gun culture world lost several faces in 2017.

WV: Manchin has failed West Virginia
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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In 2010, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) promised on the campaign trail to defend our second amendment rights, get the federal government out of our pockets, and repeal �the bad parts� of Obamacare. When Manchin went to Washington, he became the leading democrat fighting for gun control, voted against the Trump tax cuts and voted against repealing Obamacare. He did exactly the opposite of what he promised to the people of the Mountain State.

On October 9, 2010, the Manchin campaign released an advertisement that received national attention called, �Dead Aim.�

OR: Four Republicans to vie for Congressman Peter DeFazio's seat
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Cave Junction chemist Art Robinson wants to make a fifth try for the Congressional seat held by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, but it appears he will face at least three challengers in the May 2018 Republican primary.

Robinson, 75, a former Oregon Republican Party chairman, has won Douglas County every time he�s run, but lost the district-wide vote to DeFazio. DeFazio has served U.S. House District 4 for 30 years. He has not yet filed for re-election.

WI: Solemn statements after mass killings intended to make us feel better about doing nothing
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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I would prefer the second outcome, which is that we re-interpret the Second Amendment as not being an absolute guarantee to bear arms � after all, who would argue that people have the right to own nuclear weapons � but rather a right to be well regulated. A good starting point would be to close loopholes which allow people to purchase guns without a background check and to increase penalties for crimes committed by criminals using illegally obtained guns.

Some of you might call me a liberal idealist, which I admit to, but I suspect that the vast majority of people murdered by gun violence would be in favor of tighter controls.

What Is Redneck Revolt? These Left-wing Activists Protect Minorities
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The word "redneck" is typically used to insult a white person from a poor, rural background, a demographic that tends to be politically conservative. But now a group of far-left activists is reclaiming the word and using it to spark a working class movement that promotes social justice and protects minorities.

Redneck Revolt�s website says it aims to put �the red back in redneck,� a reference to the use of the color red to represent communists and other members of the far-left.

After A Vow To End 'This American Carnage,' A Year Of Deadly Violence Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There is 1 comment on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
In fact, there were more than 330 mass shootings in all, according to the nonprofit online database Gun Violence Archive. The archive's rather expansive definition of "mass shooting" includes shootings in which four or more people were shot in one location, not necessarily killed. Under that broad definition the real number is likely higher, as some shootings go unreported.

Easy access to guns is exposing US to attacks from violent extremists, warns top counterterrorism official
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Easy access to powerful firearms is exposing America to attacks from violent extremists, an outgoing top counterterrorism official has warned.

�We find ourselves in a more dangerous situation because our population of violent extremists has no difficulty gaining access to weapons that are quite lethal,� Nicholas Rasmussen of the National Counterterrorism Centre told the Washington Post. �I wish that weren�t so.�

Ed.: Rasmussen is an Obama appointee.

VA: 2 guns found in luggage at Virginia airport
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The Virginian-Pilot reports that agents with the Transportation Security Administration spotted the firearms at checkpoint x-ray machines at the city�s international airport.

A TSA agent stopped a policewoman traveling Monday with a loaded .40-caliber handgun in her carry-on luggage. As a law enforcer, she is allowed to carry a weapon. But the Norfolk woman failed to bring the proper paperwork for the weapon.

The newspaper says an agent has also stopped a man from Chesapeake who had a .22-caliber revolver in his carry-on bag. He has been cited.

GA: Guns stolen from Fayette County sporting goods store
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Fayetteville Police are asking for the community's help in locating the suspects accused of stealing guns from a sporting goods store.

The suspects broke into Dick's Sporting Goods on Pavilion Parkway in Fayetteville and made off with an undisclosed amount of guns.

Surveillance video shows two suspects walking into the store with crowbars. They begin pounding on the glass cases until one breaks, giving them access to several hand guns.

PA: Court finds short mental health treatment doesn�t end gun rights Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A federal court last week held that an involuntary emergency treatment of a Pennsylvania man for less than 24 hours did not trigger a lifetime ban on firearms. Deciding in the case of Alton Franklin, the U.S. District Court held that his brief history of mental illness reported by the state did not square against federal gun prohibitions on those who have been committed to a mental institution.