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The Violent Crime Disinformation Matrix
When it comes to violent crime, there is what I would call a disinformation matrix. Surprisingly, this matrix is formed unintentionally by pro-gunners, intentionally by anti-gunners, by media coverage, by statistical terminology, and sadly, by an abuse of language. What this disinformation matrix does is prevent an ordinary civilian from truly understanding violent crime risks…
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Trends for Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 1999–2018:The First 20 Years of the Permanent Brady Act Period
“Abstract:The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Act) requires a background check on an applicant for a firearm purchase from a dealer who is a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). During the permanent Brady Act period, from 1999 through 2018, background checks were conducted on over 237 million applicants for firearm transfers or permits. During this…
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Criminal Victimization, 2023
“This report presents official estimates of nonfatal criminal victimizations reported and not reported to police from BJS’s [Bureau of Justice Statistics’] National Crime Victimization Survey.” The full report is available here. I encourage everyone to read it. Why? Here is an example: How many violent victimizations in 2023 involved a firearm? Many people would answer…
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Uncomfortable Truths About Trigger Finger Discipline
What is trigger finger discipline? Well, it comes up quite a bit on semi-automatic weapons that have the hammer cocked (typically done automatically), a round chambered, and the safety off. In this state, the amount of pressure needed to depress the trigger and fire the weapon is very low. If you are not ready to…
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Identification Location on Long Road Trips
In this post, I discussed how I keep my identification separate from my wallet. Specifically, I’ll keep my identification inside an armband high on my arm (summer) or my wrist (winter, with long-sleeve shirts). I’ve learned that when I’m in the car for long periods of traveling, the armband can get uncomfortable. There seems to…
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The Mic Drop Slogan
It is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it. This slogan is used to convince someone to carry a firearm for self-defense. It sounds persuasive, but is it true? Let’s examine it. Testing Without Symptoms To explore this topic, we must consider a similar…
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Air Travel with Firearms
There is an article in CONCEALMENT magazine, Issue 38, called “FLYING ARMED – Air Travel with Firearms” by Dave Merrill. Dave says: In this article, we’ll demystify the process, drawing from the collective hunders of times members of our staff has flown with firearms. I think the article is an excellent resource and has very…
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BJS Juvenile Crime Report
The report is here. I encourage you to read the report. I will briefly mention some things I found interesting.
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Self-defense Products I Wish Existed
Here are some modifications to products that I think would be very valuable for those interested in self-defense.
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Hidden Complexity
I was reading some violent crime studies. One of them began with this sentence: “Gun violence is a public health problem.” It is a simple statement that hides an incredible amount of complexity. I do not know if the authors intended this or not. Let’s go through this sentence. First, the word “violence.” What does…
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