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I am researching an article on suicide and guns in Switzerland, but I need some help obtaining numbers from about the reduction in Swiss militia in the 2004 drawdown, and how the numbers of guns in peoples homes may have been reduced. It would be very helpful to obtain some detailed suicide data as well, particularly for the militia. Unfortunately, I do not speak or write German, Italian, or French.  I am sure that there exists a ProTell member who could assist me, but I have not found any  way to contact them. An alternate possibility would be a...

For a number of years, there has been an attempt to require people who exercise their Second Amendment rights to report to the government if any of their firearms are stolen.  While this may seem innocuous to the naive, it serves much deeper disarmist purposes.  The obvious purpose of this law is to make the exercise of Second Amendment rights more legally dangerous, in stark opposition to ownership of other common items, such as gasoline, vehicles, or common poisons.  It singles out the exercise of a single Constitutional right for increased scrutiny, and it creates a reason for the...

A gun shop and shooting range in Kingston, Tennessee, listened and read the news of attacks on Christians in mass shootings in Oregon and in Charleston, South Carolina.  He read of Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey call for Christians to arm themselves and to get a carry permit.   Brant W. Williams is the owner of that shop, Frontier Firearms, and he decided to act.  He offered Christians a discount of 5% on buying firearms in his store for Christians who purchased selected handguns.   Frontier Firearms also has an on-site range and offers firearms training.  Thousands go through their courses each...

How the mighty have fallen. A soldier, in uniform, with a pack and a clearly fake gun causes an entire section of Australian civilization to go into the "vapors".Throughout most of the rest of the world, there would hardly be a comment. Seeing soldiers on exercises is common and only slightly noteworthy.Notice that this soldier did nothing that was even remotely threatening, except exist. He did not fire blanks. He never pointed the crude, welded metal sections, vaguely resembling a rifle, at anyone. We (in the United States) would be in the same place if it were not for...

Abstract The Victorian era was marked by an explosion of innovation and genius, per capita rates of which appear to have declined subsequently. The presence of dysgenic fertility for IQ amongst Western nations, starting in the 19th century, suggests that these trends might be related to declining IQ. This is because high-IQ people are more productive and more creative. We tested the hypothesis that the Victorians were cleverer than modern populations, using high-quality instruments, namely measures of simple visual reaction time in a meta-analytic study. Simple reaction time measures correlate substantially with measures of general intelligence (g) and are considered...

How the mighty have fallen. A soldier, in uniform, with a pack and a clearly fake gun causes an entire section of Australian civilization to go into the "vapors".Throughout most of the rest of the world, there would hardly be a comment. Seeing soldiers on exercises is common and only slightly noteworthy.Notice that this soldier did nothing that was even remotely threatening, except exist. He did not fire blanks. He never pointed the crude, welded metal sections, vaguely resembling a rifle, at anyone. We (in the United States) would be in the same place if it were not for...

The push to reform Florida gun laws to restore open carry rights has gained significant momentum in the last few weeks.  First, on October 5th, the licensed Open Carry bill,  HB-163, passed the Florida House Criminal Justice sub-committee, with an 8-4 vote.  Second, one day later, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear a constitutional challenge to the Florida Open Carry ban in the Norman v. State (Florida) (PDF) case.   The Florida Sheriff's Association, using rather heavy-handed tactics, came out against the open carry bill in the middle of October . Now the Florida Police Chiefs Association has said...

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - The American Red Cross honored local heroes during the 8th annual Heroes Luncheon. Among the brave men and women recognized, Lt. Cmdr Tim White gave his first TV interview describing his experiences during the July 16th shootings. Lt. Cmdr Tim White says the community has been so supportive since the attacks. White wants to thank everyone for donating their time and money to help the victims and their families, and for showing the local military their support. "We've been receiving cards, and letters, and gifts to the units and it's been overwhelming, it's been really amazing,"...

I have previously written about the Northern Arizona University 'School Shooting' and that it may have been a legitimate case of defense of self and others.    It was clear that the 'school shooter' had been attacked, had been pursued, had articulated a fear for his life, had cooperated with the police, and that the people that he shot all belonged to the same fraternity.   In that article, I hoped that toxicology tests had been done for everyone involved. Blood should have been drawn from Jones and the others involved to determine blood alcohol levels or the presence of...

I just got back from the North Dallas Wal-Mart just off the George W. Bush freeway and Marsh rd, consistently had 5 cent .22 ammunition when I visited my Daughter in October.  When I checked on 29 November, there were five boxes of Winchester copper-plated .22 LR, 333 round boxes for $14.97.  That translates to 4.5 cents a cartridge.   I suspected that it was a fluke.Today, at 11:30 on 11 December, I checked again.  This time the shelves were full of .22 at Wal-Mart, including quite a few bulk packs.  The Remington ammo today was 4.9 cents a round;...

Sheriffs and police chiefs from jurisdictions large and small are joining the trend of law officers calling for citizens to carry firearms to aid in the defense against terrorism, rampage killings, and violent criminals.  The call is a simple recognition of the millennia old understanding that people can defend themselves and others better if they are armed.It is only during the recent history of the last hundred years that the illusion of safety through disarmament has been promoted by the mass media.  The mass media's chokehold on information flow has been broken and the illusion is failing. Sheriff Joe...

In the weeks following the San Bernardino massacre, several Sheriff's and Police Chiefs have called for people who can legally carry arms to carry them for increased security of themselves and others.  Law officers as diverse as Detroit Police Chief James Craig of Detroit and Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County in Arizona have asked people who can legally carry firearms to carry at all times that they are out and about. Now Sheriff Helmig of Ohio has added his name to the growing list.  The concept is not new.  It is as old as mankind and has been...

On April 17th of 2015, John Hendricks reacted quickly and accurately to stop a mass shooting, likely saving numerous lives.  John Hendricks is a black man who was exercising his Constitutional rights in Chicago, a town where they had been suppressed for generations.  Hendricks was taking a break from accepting Uber fares when he saw a man rack a slide on a pistol across the street.  Then the man began firing at a group near him.  Hendricks acted rapidly and accurately.  He fired about six times and hit the attacker three times, an excellent record of 50%, much higher...

Isn’t it ironic that a Messianic Jew, Nicholas Thalasinos, was one of the people killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino.  Nicholas was a co-worker with the shooter, and had argued with him, saying that Islam is violent.  Maybe that is why he was killed, to show how non-violent Islam is.  He is reported to have been threatened with death just hours before the attack.  The NY post is reported to be using the fact that he called Islam violent a possible reason for the attack.  From facebook, Carl Ludwig: This literally makes me sick.Nicholas Thalasinos was a...

House Bill 48 is the prominent gun law reform bill pending in Ohio.  It is a modest bill that makes only a few reforms.  It removes silly prohibitions on permit holders from carrying concealed guns in day care centers, in the unsecured areas of airports, and other "gun free zones".   It passed the House by over 2-1 (68-29) on 17 November,  and has 42 cosponsors in the house, including the Speaker.  The bill is now before the Senate.  Here is a summation of HB48(pdf): To amend sections 311.42, 2923.12, 2923.122, and 2923.126 of the Revised Code to modify the prohibition...

Sheriff Joe Arpaio now rests near the top of those chief peace officers who vocally support defense of self and others, and exercise of Second Amendment rights.  Not only did he ask concealed carriers to protect themselves and each other, but open carriers as well.  From fox10Phoenix.com Surrounded by his posse, Sheriff Joe Arpaio asked armed citizens to help protect malls this holiday season. Arpaio says nearly 250,000 Arizonans carry concealed weapons and many more are carrying in the open. "I'm asking for that group to make sure that if some violent activity occurs that they take action to...

Strict controls on the ownership and use of guns have been enacted in a number of polities in the United States.   One of the supposed purposes of such laws is to reduce the murder rate.  Murder rates in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) consist of murder and non-negligent manslaughter.When strict controls do not produce low murder rates, such as in Chicago or Washington D.C., the claim is made that the problem is the easy access to guns in areas outside of the polity with the strict controls.  In Washington, D.C., it is claimed that criminals can easily obtain...

The above is a screenshot of the guns of the San Bernardino terrorists.  It has been reported that they had two “assault rifles”.  From ktla.com: After they were killed in a shootout, two suspects in Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino were found to have been carrying AR-15 assault rifles, pistols and many magazines of ammunition, ATF Agent Meredith Davis said. The New York Times and other outlets repeated the misinformation that was put out by the ATF.  In Agent Davis’ defense, she did say “commonly referred to as” before she said “assault rifles”.  The rifles are not “assault...

Jamaica is an island nation with draconian gun controls.  It has one of the highest murder rates on the planet.  It was not always so.  In 1962, before independence, Jamaica had a murder rate of 3.9 per 100,000 population, one of the lowest in the world.  It was lower than the U.S. murder rate of 4.6 per 100,000 in 1962.  The U.S. murder rate in 2012 was slightly lower than in 1962; 4.5 per 100,000.  Jamaica's murder rate in 2012 was 45.1, eleven times greater than it had been under British rule.  The firearms act was first passed in...

The guns used during the San Bernardino shooting were purchased legally in the United States, an ATF spokesman said, as authorities continue to piece together the events of the Wednesday morning massacre. This is the latest information to come from the scene of the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center, where husband and wife Syed Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, murdered 14 people, injuring 17 others. The parents had left a six-month-old daughter behind with her grandmother before embarking on their mission. READ MORE: 2 suspects dead in San Bernardino mass shooting, both identified The pair used two...