Saturday, May 30, 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Jerome Ersland charged with murder.. *UPDATE 2*.

Jerome Ersland, the man who shot a would-be robber, is now charged with first degree murder, because he shot the incapacitated robber an additional 5 times, thus causing his death. Here is the surveillance video from his pharmacy:



Initially, this was a good shoot and perfectly within Oklahoma's Castle Doctrine. However, Mr. Ersland went beyond-self defense when he shot an incapacitated person an additional 5 times.

His second mistake was talking too much. Mr. Ersland spent way too much time talking to the press and as a result, there is a record of his account of the event that doesn't match the surveillance video. After a self-defense shooting, the after reporting the incident, any further talking you do on the subject should be done through your lawyer.

His third mistake was not using a sufficient weapon. In my opinion, the .380ACP round used by Mr. Ersland's Kel-Tec P-3AT is insufficient for self-defense. There are cases where people have been shot in the head with a .380ACP and weren't even incapacitated. So it's no surprised the would be robber was still alive after being shot in the head.

Luckily, Mr. Ersland did have a larger caliber weapon at hand: A Taurus Judge. But there isn't enough information available to know whether Mr. Ersland had it loaded with .45LC or .410 shotshells as some Judge owners do. While the .45LC is great for self-defense, .410 shotshells (depending on what they are loaded with) can be marginal to useless.

Fortunately, Oklahoma is a fairly pro-self-defense state, thus Mr. Ersland stands a chance of getting a fair trial absent of the anti-gun/anti-self-defense bias you'd see in other states. The majority of local opinion is in support of Mr. Ersland. He's especially getting a lot of sympathy since he's a disabled vet whose pharmacy has been robbed before.

UPDATE:
More suspects arrested.
Ersland released on bail and is now under house arrest limiting him to work, church, the store, the doctor, restaurants, court, and home.

What's most interesting is that the DA asked that Ersland not be barred from being armed while out on bail, arguing that Ersland still has a right to defend himself and pharmacy employees if the store is robbed again. Spectators in the court cheered at that statement. I have to give kudos to the DA for realizing that just because you're accused of a crime, it doesn't mean you should be rendered defenseless.

Unfortunately, the judge disagrees and there is no mention of her providing a security for Mr. Ersland.

UPDATE 2:
A third suspect is identified. All suspects now charged with murder.
Gunman's mother knew of son's involvement but didn't tell police.

My prediction: The two adults involved in the robbery get the book thrown at them, Ersland goes free, and the gunman gets a few years in a juvenile detention center.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Myths and Lies about the National Park Amendment.

The president recently signed a piece of credit card reform legislation that included an amendment to allow the lawful carry of firearms in national parks for the purpose of self-defense.

Gun control advocates are crying foul because obviously, guns have nothing to do with credit card reform, but considering the dirty tricks they played in the past, they don't have my sympathy. I am all for restoring our Second Amendment rights by any means possible.

Naturally, they have to play up the baseless hysterics about people running around with AK-47s (1, 2, and 3), ignoring the fact that the open carrying of a loaded long gun is illegal in a vast majority of states unless you're on hunting grounds or a gun range.

Speaking of hunting, another one of the lies being perpetuated is now that lawfully carried firearms are allowed in national parks, there will be an uptick in poaching. They conveniently leave out the fact, that poaching in a national park is already illegal and those who are intent on breaking that law will not be inconvenienced by one more law.

Once you get past the hysterics and fear-mongering, this legislation changes very little. All it does is allow state law to apply to national parks. It won't increase the numbers of people carrying guns. It won't allow any currently prohibited person to carry a gun. You won't be allowed to carry any kind of gun you want. It won't allow people to open fire for any reason. You won't be able to carry a gun in the Statue of Liberty or the National Mall. Our national parks will now be under the same firearms laws as our movie theaters and shopping malls. No longer will a person have to worry about becoming a criminal just because they crossed an invisible barrier.

At the end of the day, this latest tantrum is just a continuation of the gun controllers' "blood will run the streets" meme. For almost a quarter of a century, law-abiding citizens have been able to legally carry a firearm for protection. And each time a new place or population becomes open to carrying, the gun controllers give dire predictions of "wild west shoot-outs" over parking spaces and hurt feelings. Yet none of these predictions come true.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

"Ex-military Rightwing Extremist Shoots Child."

At least that's what the headline would say if this happened anywhere but one of the most pro-2nd Amendment states.


OKLAHOMA CITY -- A suspect shot and killed during a robbery at an Oklahoma City pharmacy has been identified as a local teen.

Antwun R. Parker, 16, was shot and killed during a robbery at Reliable Discount, located at 5900 S. Penn Ave., police said.

According to police, Parker and a man went into the store with the intention of robbing it. A store pharmacist -- 57-year-old Jerome Ersland -- fired at them, killing Parker.

Ersland said he feels bad about what happened, noting that he was protecting himself a coworker.

"I wasn't shooting to kill. They were shooting at me. I was shooting to get them off me," Ersland said.

Ersland is a disabled veteran who has had a legally concealed weapon for six years. He said this was the first time he has ever pulled it out on somebody.

The other robber fled the scene and is described as a black man in his 20s, approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 175 pounds. He was wearing a black mask, red T-shirt and black pants.

Officers arrested a man found in a car near the crime scene. Investigators aren’t sure exactly how he is related to the case but they said he might have been the getaway driver.

The case is still with the Oklahoma City Police Department. Once local police are finished, they will hand the investigation over to the Oklahoma County district attorney's office.

The district attorney decides whether charges will be pressed.


There is no doubt the Brady Campaign and VPC will count Mr. Parker as one of their dead "children". "Children" being defined by them as anyone up to and including 24 years of age. They will also continue to ignore the fact that their "children" (males 16-24 years of age) are the most likely to commit a violent crime, thus more likely do be killed during the commission of a violent crime.

And if men like Barack Obama, Paul Helmke, and Josh Sugarmann had their druthers, Mr. Ersland would be dead or in jail.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Allow me to explain, Josh.

Josh Sugarmann via Christian Science Monitor:
“If you compare the pro-gun activity in the blogosphere versus the pro-gun-control activity, the scales have just tipped tremendously in their favor,” says Josh Sugarmann, founder of the Violence Policy Center in Washington, which advocates for more gun control in the US. “There’s much more engagement, more involvement, and they clearly have more free time than people on our side of the issue do.”


Well, Josh... It's not that they have more free time than your side. The reason there is more engagement and involvement on the pro-gun side is because it's personal. The vast majority of pro-gun bloggers are defending their hobbies, careers, ways of life, means of safety, and most importantly their rights. That is something that stirs ones passions and soul and makes them want to get involved and go that extra mile.

On the other hand, your side isn't more engaged and involved because your fight is an impersonal one. Aside from certain individuals who have a personal vendetta against firearms, the average gun control advocate is nothing more than a hired gun or self-righteous busy-body trying to sell a failed political position.

And that is ultimately why the pro-gun side can attract so many engaged and involved people. That is why the NRA can fill a convention center for an entire weekend while you would be lucky to fill a Chuck-E-Cheese for an hour.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Lie #17: "There aren't any laws on the books."

"All of our gun laws are basically set with the presumption that we don't want to do anything to make it hard for anybody to get a gun,” Helmke said. “People always say there are all these laws on the books. There aren't any laws on the books.”


Is Paul Helmke a liar or just stupid? I'm putting my money on both. I'm guessing desperation is making him say anything with the hopes that it will stick.

Just a little primer for Paul on those laws that aren't on the books:

National Firearms Act
Gun Control Act of 1968
FOPA

We even have an entire federal organization dedicated to enforcing these laws that aren't on the book.

What can be learned from the Camp Liberty shooting?

In case you haven't heard of it by now.

1. "Gun Free Zones" don't work in America. They don't work in Iraq either.

2. Even trained soldiers aren't safe in a "Gun Free Zone".

3. Even when the only people allowed to have guns are highly trained and vetted, a crazy person will still find a way to get a gun.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Obama Gun Rush by the numbers...

NICS data by state for 2009:

Most Checks - Kentucky @ 515,453 checks
Least Checks - Washington D.C. @ 114 checks
No Checks - Mariana Islands

Just by eye-balling it, my state of Oklahoma appears to be slightly above average @ 68,325 checks. I am two of those checks.

Here is where things get interesting:

Most People per Check - Washington D.C. @ 5191.52
Least People per Check - Kentucky @ 8.28

The Brady Campaign ranks Kentucky in last place with the weakest gun laws and they always speak highly of Washington D.C.'s strict gun laws. Do these numbers reveal the Brady Campaign's real agenda; Not to reduce gun violence, but to reduce gun sales and ownership in general?


Nelson T. Shields, Chairman Emeritus, Handgun Control, Inc. (now known as the Brady Campaign)
"We'll take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily - given the political realities - very modest. We'll have to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total control of handguns, is going to take time. The first problem is to slow down production and sales. Next is to get registration. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and ammunition (with a few exceptions) totally illegal.”

You're doing it wrong...

MIDVALE -- A violent home invasion at an apartment in Midvale Tuesday morning left one suspect dead and about eight others on the run. Police say one of the apartment residents pulled the trigger.
Four people were inside the apartment at The Springs of Country Woods at 6995 S. 1030 East playing video games around 1:30 a.m. when they heard a knock at their door. One person went to the door, and eight to 10 people tried to force their way in.


Sgt. John Salazar of the Midvale Police Department said, "He tried to push the door back closed when somebody stabbed him in the hand. Then they gained entry."
The intruders forced the four residents into a back bedroom. One of the suspects struck a female. Her boyfriend came to her defense and fought one of the suspects. He got a hold of the suspect's gun and fatally shot him.
After the suspect was shot, more shots rang out. Police say they were fired by other suspects in the apartment. None of the residents were injured except for the man who was stabbed on the hand.


Wait a minute... I thought the bad guys were supposed to take the gun away from the good guys, not the other way around. And what's with 8 to 10 people trying to invade an apartment? That sounds like a good reason to have one of those high-capacity, semi-automatic, assault weapons.