Church Security...

I attended a seminar hosted by our local sheriff that was geared toward local houses of worship.  he explained the breakdown of incidences by religion, Whooda thunk that the Baptist had the highest incidence of church violence at 26%, but that also can be that Baptist are a larger religious groups here in the United States.  I am a trustee at the Church I attend, several members of the Trustee's went to the meeting to get clarification on what we can do after the well publicized church shootings.

 The Auditorium was packed standing room only with 400 people there, I was lucky to get a corner seat.

This is a list of Church shootings, some of them I knew about..Some I didn't.  Apparently there was another one the same time as the Southerland Spring and nobody knew about it because the Southerland Spring had soaked up all the media coverage.
     The Sheriff did explain the new law that was enacted in 2014, and this law was clear like mud, you either opt on with no restrictions or opt out with a "gun Free Zone", there are no gray areas.  Let me explain what the law means...

   I got a synopsis of the law right here...

The Safe Carry Protection Act, the new gun law, went into effect July 1, 2014. Governor Nathan Deal signed a bill that changed where a person with a gun permit can carry a concealed weapon. Georgia law contains two areas regarding concealed weapons.  The first change was at a public gathering. A public gathering is described as any sporting event, churches or church functions, political rallies, any government building and bars. Customers can now bring guns into bars if the owner specifically allows it. Under the old Georgia law, carrying a gun at any public location was a misdemeanor. The second area under current Georgia law is schools. It is against the law to carry any weapon within 1,000 feet of property owned by a public or private school. Violation of this law is a felony. This law is being reviewed in regard to employees of the school, however, if a teacher chooses to carry a weapon, special training will be required. The law Governor Deal signed included several provisions that will relax the restrictions on where a gun may be carried.
Sections of the new gun law that were changed or re-defined:
Schools: Local school boards will vote on whether or not they want to allow their teachers and other staff members to be armed on school property. Specific training will be required.
Religious Institutions: Church leaders can decide whether to allow their members to bring guns into their buildings. That includes services as well as other church functions.
Bars: Customers may bring guns into bars unless the owner asks them to leave, or posts notice of this in the establishment.
Airports: Guns may now be carried in common areas of airports. If a gun is accidentally brought to the security checkpoint, an individual may leave with the firearm without being arrested.
Government buildings: Guns may now be brought into government buildings that don’t have security checkpoints or metal detectors. An example of this would be a library.
Georgia has gotten a lot of press about this in the recent months. As with any type of change, not everyone is going to agree with it, or be aware of it. The bill also expands Georgia’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Before, a person couldn’t use that defense if a banned firearm was used in self defense. Under the new law, a Stand Your Ground defense could be presented even if a banned or illegal weapon is used.

    What it does is give the Churches the option to opt in or opt out...If they opt in, they have to be "all in" from CCW to open carry to long guns.  If they opt out, it is totally out, no guns period.  Now this  is maddening because most of the churches will "opt out" because of theological or liability reasons.  My church will have a debate on this.  In the past the southeastern Methodist left it up to the individual churches. This is the same logic that many food delivery places use.  "No Guns and no resistance".  This law was to put the liability off the food companies when the families of the Perps try to sue.  The company can say that "The driver violated our policies" so we are not libel for damages.
     Well it is the same thing with the Churches, they can say that "No Guns" so when some sicko shoots up the church or kills people, the liability ain't on the Church.  I understand the legalities, but morally and ethically I consider this policies wrong.  To deny someone's natural right of self defense is wrong and a violation of Gods law.
     If a Church "opt's in", then they can't say no to any type of firearm, they can't discriminate if someone brings an AR pattern rifle in or face a discrimination lawsuit.  This puts the Churches in a unenviable position.
    We will have to decide how to proceed.  Criminals and sicko's will target churches because they are a huge target of opportunities for someone wanting to make a statement or get their 15 minutes of fame.  Because of what has transpired us trustees have to decide if we will carry to help provide security and the Church policies on Firearm policies.  Normally I don't carry in Church because the vaguaries of the law and my being a law abiding citizen won't break the law.  But because of what has happened I will carry my compact pistol.
     Now I have a Taurus Millennium and it has been a good pistol and reliable but people have been telling me to get rid of the Taurus due to the company lack of quality control and the hit or miss (pardon the pun) quality of their firearms.

And get a Shield or a Springfield XDM or something like that.   I have contacted my buddy Mack who works at a gun shop about the cost and trade in of my Taurus for another more historically reliable pistol.  This got started when I inquired about a good self defense rounds, I have in the magazines normal ball ammo, but I wanted something more of a "man stopper" kind of round especially if I carry inside a church environment.

I got this from USA Carry, I shamelessly cut and pasted it.

A Realistic look at Conceal Carry

Conceal Carry is for people to have a Defensive position if they are attacked.
Forget all the Dirty Harry and Old West hype.

Many times you will have no idea when an armed bad person will decide to use a gun. You could be in a convenient store when a guy pulls a gun on the cashier and demands money. Now if this happens, you must think, has the bad guy noticed you? If so be careful because he might be keeping an eye on you. If he is aware of you can you pull your weapon and stop him without getting killed? Remember, you have no idea how well a bad guy can shoot. Is it worth taking the chance? Or do you let him run with the money? now if he starts shooting that's another story.

Say he has not seen you, you must then try and determine if he is anxious to start shooting, does he look psyched up, is he nervous, angry? Since he has not seen you, you can more easily draw your weapon and aim. BUT, do you tell him to drop his gun or let him walk out with the money? If you shoot is there any chance of hitting the clerk or anyone else? Naturally if he starts shooting you fire.

Every situation is different, you must size up the situation as quickly as possible and make a good decision.
Remember it's not failure to let the bad guy walk, but it is failure to shoot and hit an innocent person. Do you want a gunfight? How many other people are around? If you tell him to drop his gun and he whirls to shoot at you are you ready to take him down? There must be no indecision once you pull your gun. You must be ready to use it with no hesitation if something happens.

Bad guys do not ask you to face them out in the street at 20 paces for a gunfight.
You also can not be as reckless as Dirty Harry, you must use more logic as to whether or not to get involved in a gunfight.

So leave the Bravado talk in the forums and use good judgement in a real situation

Carrying in the car..

I saw this article from the American Rifleman.   will have to practice getting access when necessary. 

We are a society that spends a lot of time in our cars. We know that bad things can happen to us while driving, such as carjacking and the like. However, most of us really don't spend much time considering how we will access and deploy our defensive handguns from inside the vehicle.
Most defensive shooters carry on their strong-side hip. This is a solid, proven technique that works very well for most situations. However, it really is less than adequate when you are belted in with your seat belt. Just go sit in your car and give it a try. I suspect that your cool, 1.5-second speed presentation will turn into a 4- to 6-second fumble. Obviously, carrying in your vehicle requires some serious thought and practice if you are going to be able to address a criminal attack with any speed.
One solution is to reconsider your carry location when spending time in the vehicle. I'm usually not a big fan of shoulder holsters or cross-draw rigs. However, both have some positive application for drivers. Using either carry method makes it a lot easier to access a defensive handgun while belted in. I find that the shoulder holster is a lot more comfortable than the hip carry in a car, especially on long road trips.
If you are simply stuck on strong-side hip carry, it is important to make releasing the seat belt a part of your firearms presentation. Right-handed shooters should use their support hand to release the belt. The support hand goes behind the seat belt, at chest level, with the palm out. Run the hand down to the buckle, maintaining contact with the belt all the way. As the buckle is released, the support hand sweeps the belt to the left and out of the way, as your right hand takes the shooting grip and draws the handgun.
Some folks simply unholster their defensive handgun when getting in their vehicle and place it close by. While this is not a bad idea, one should really be careful that the handgun is placed in a secure location and that this is legal in the region of travel. Simply sticking it under your thigh, as some folks do, can be a serious mistake.
One of the FBI agents that was involved in the Miami Massacre of the 1980s did that very thing. Later, when he rammed the bad guys' car, his gun went flying and he didn't find it until the resulting gunfight was over. The same thing can happen to you if your vehicle is rammed during a carjacking attempt.
If you choose to unholster your handgun, you should have a secure place to keep it. That secure location should also be out of sight for anyone who might look into the car. A holster located on the front face of the driver's seat would be a good location. A holster, especially one made of Kydex, fastened to the side of the console would also make sense. Just make sure that it is low enough to be concealed from view.
As with your regular firearms presentation, vehicle carry should be practiced too. Take the time to go sit in your car, buckle up and work on your presentation. Try it from various locations, on your person and secured in the vehicle. Based upon your personal situation and the physical aspects of your individual vehicle, you should be able to find a secure and relatively quick method for defensive carry. Once you've got an idea of how to carry, have someone give you the command and time your vehicle presentation. When you can present the handgun from a secure location in about 2 seconds, you know that you are on the right track. Prior planning for vehicle carry might just save your life. Work on it!

New Purchase

I bought my first pistol in 11 years,  I have purchased a couple of long guns since 2000, but bought my first pistol in 11 years.  I have several pistols, but most of them are too large to carry comfortable, and my little CZ-50 is great but the little .32 ACP round isn't an effective manstopper.  I want to carry more because face it, it is dangerous times we live in and nobody will take care of you except you.  When seconds count, the cops are minutes away.  I purchased a Taurus millennium .40 caliber, same round as my S&W Sigma.  I paid a fair amount from Academy Sports.  it was a good deal.  I had checked several pawn shops first, but their inventory was varied and they didn't have exactly what I wanted for the price range I paid.  I paid $369 plus tax, got pistol, extra clip, box and cleaning brush.

Now it is time for range, gotta find a good holster for it for CCW applications.

national CCW permit..?

I thought this is a good thing....according to the NRA and some other gun groups but GOA says otherwise....  What do my esteemed readers think?

HR 822 Infringes On 2nd Amendment

November 23, 2011 by Bob Livingston

The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 is couched as a bill favorable to gun owners. In truth, it’s another insidious misuse of the Constitution’s “commerce clause” and a backdoor assault on the 2^nd Amendment.
The feel-good portion of the bill sounds appealing: It forces one State to recognize a concealed carry permit issued in another. But Gun Owners of America has pointed out some of the bill’s flaws:

• It forces Vermont residents (who do not need a permit to carry) to either obtain an out-of-State permit or to push their State to pass a more restrictive concealed carry law than it now enjoys;
• By requiring permits for reciprocity, the bill undermines efforts at the State level to pass Constitutional carry (i.e., Vermont-style carry);
• In restrictive “may issue” States, the bill allows for non-residents to carry firearms in the State while most residents would still be prohibited, and;
• The bill is yet another example of Congress distorting of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

Also from GOA:

Representative Justin Amash (R-MI), who voted against the bill, addressed this last point in a statement, calling HR 822 “an unconstitutional bill that improperly applies the Commerce Clause to concealed carry licensing.”
Another freshman Representative, Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), noted that the right to carry a concealed firearm is already protected by the Second Amendment.
“If the Second Amendment protects my rights to carry my concealed weapon from state to state to state, I don’t need another federal law,” Rep. Woodall said. He went on to remind his colleagues of the original intent of the right to keep and bear arms.

Finally, a troubling amendment inserted into the bill instructs the Government Accounting Office to conduct a study of the ability of State and local law enforcement to verify the validity of licenses and permits issued by other States.
While the sponsors of the bill cite the “commerce clause” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) of the Constitution, nothing in the Constitution gives the Federal government the authority to study the exercising of a right.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where anti-gun Democrats will no doubt do all they can to use the amendment process to further erode the 2^nd Amendment.