WASHINGTON (CNN) -- December holiday shoppers were not just interested in buying the hottest electronics and toys -- they also were purchasing record numbers of guns, according to the latest FBI figures on background checks required to buy firearms.

With a few days left in December, the FBI reports the number of background checks has already topped the previous one-month record -- set only in November -- of 1,534,414 inquiries by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also known as NICS. Almost half a million checks were done in just the last six days before Christmas.

Two days before Christmas, NICS ran 102,222 background checks, which was the second-busiest day in history. The one-day record was set this year on Black Friday, the big shopping day following Thanksgiving, with 129,166 searches. By comparison, the previous one-day high was set November 28, 2008, when gun dealers made slightly less than 98,000 requests for background searches.

It's not possible to tell exactly how many guns have been purchased because buyers often take home more than one gun. But most people pass the background checks. Only 1.3% of the searches result in people being denied permission to buy a weapon, said FBI spokesman Steve Fischer.

FBI officials did not offer a theory on the spike in gun sales. It's also not clear how many of the background checks were for people who never had owned guns before and how many were for gunowners adding to their collections.

The National Rifle Association says the figures indicate more people feel they need guns for self defense.

"I think there's an increased realization that when something bad occurs, it's going to be between them and the criminal," NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told CNN. Arulandandum said Americans realize police cannot be everywhere there's trouble and also that some officers are being laid off due to budget cutting.

The NRA spokesman also said an increased number of Americans are participating in skeet shooting and other gun sports.

A leading gun-control organization says repeat buyers most likely are responsible for the holiday surge in guns sales.

"The research we've seen indicates fewer and fewer people are owning more and more guns," said Caroline Brewer of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "All the trends indicate the number of Americans who own guns has declined."

"It would appear because of fear-mongering by the NRA since (President Barack) Obama's election that people are adding more guns to their arsenals out of fear Obama and the Democrats will take away their guns, which is absurd," said Brewer.

 

Firearm regulation forum set

A community forum to gather public input for consideration in regulating the sale and possession of firearms is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tues., Jan. 24, at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. Hosted by the Board of Health as a public safety issue, the forum is part of a process that ultimately will lead to recommendations to the Village Board for possible action. Prohibiting businesses from selling firearms is considered unlikely, officials say, given recent U.S. Supreme and Appellate Court rulings. However, laws that regulate where, how and to whom firearms are sold and kept are among those considered legally defensible. For more information on the meeting, call 708.358.5480 or e-mail health@oak-park.us.

 

Take 10 minutes, then take up the fight.



Protect your right, protect yourself!

 

A story with a happy ending. Thanks to the safe and effective use of hand guns

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/off-...-o-sister.html

Henderson, N.C. — The Vance County Sheriff's Office has arrested a second suspect in a Thursday home invasion where a teenager defended himself and his sister by shooting an intruder.
Sheriff Peter White said Anthony Henderson Jr., 19, had crossed the threshold at 586 S. Lynnbank Road, where two teens were home alone. The boy shot him, and he stumbled outside to the lawn, where deputies found him. Henderson was taken to Maria Parham Medical Center, where he died A check of his criminal record shows Henderson had previous charges of trespass, assault and property damage. He was due in court in early 2012 on charges of operating a vehicle without a license or registration.

No charges are expected against the teen for firing on Henderson North Carolina's Castle Doctrine law, updated on Dec. 1, allows homeowners to assume intruders mean them ill whether they have a weapon on not. Henderson was not armed, White said.

 

Closer to home!

By Deanese Williams-Harris
Tribune reporter

11:47 a.m. CST, December 31, 2011
Highland Park police are investigating a Friday night home invasion where the victims were tied up and robbed of their jewelry.

Shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, two armed suspects forced their way into a home on Winona Road in the northern suburb and fired shots. The suspects then tied up the victims and robbed them of jewelry and other valuables before fleeing, police said in a press release today.

The homeowner's son was able to loosen his restraints and call the police. The victims were not wounded by the gunfire, but they did suffer minor injuries. How they suffered those injuries was not released by police.

The police conducted a search of the area using a K-9 unit. Other homes in the area were checked by officers on foot, police said.

Police were still investigating.

 

Home Invasion and Robbery Prevention
Protect Yourself And Your Family

Personal Home Safety
Home invasion robberies are scary and most of the victims have been seniors. The crime itself threatens our belief that we are safest in our homes. This page will help you improve the safety of your home and neighborhood. If you need more information on home invasion robbery prevention call your local police. They will be glad to help.
Criminals generally look for opportunities that require the least effort and offer low risk and high gain. Here's how you can make your home and neighborhood less attractive to home invasion robbery.


Safety At Your Front Door
1. Never automatically open your front door. Make sure you know your caller's identity before admitting him.

2. If the person at your door is a stranger, ask for identification to be passed under the door. If he is unable to do this, do not admit him. If you do, you are asking for a home invasion robbery.

3. It is advisable to have a wide angle viewer (peep-hole) in the door so that you can check a person's identity without unlocking your door.

Home Invasion Safety
1. All doors in your home leading to the outside should have dead-bolt locks. A must for robbery prevention.

2. When away at night, leave a light burning.

3. Do not leave a key over a door or under a mat.

4. The single lock on a garage door is inadequate to keep home invaders from prying up the opposite side and crawling in. Use a padlock. But never leave it unlocked. This is an invitation to have the padlock removed so that a key can be made, and the lock returned to its position. Later, the burglar returns when no one is home and enters at his leisure, using "his" key.

5. Mark your valuables and keep an accurate record of all your most valuable possessions.

6. When leaving on a trip:
A. Stop all deliveries.
B. Connect a light to a timer.
C. Notify the police and have a neighbor check your home periodically.
D. Have someone maintain your lawn.

7. Be a concerned neighbor. If you see a suspicious person, car or situation, contact the police.

Safety For The Apartment
1. If you live in an apartment building with an intercom system to the front door, make sure the landlord keeps it in operating order.

2. Never admit anyone unless you are expecting him or know him.

3. Never admit anyone to the building who is there to see another tenant or to deliver something to another apartment.

4. Anyone asking admission so that he can do some work for another tenant should not be admitted, but should be referred to the building's manager.

5. If you see someone in your building who looks out of place or is acting suspiciously, contact the police.


What if it happens to you?

If you are a victim of a home invasion robbery remember the following:

STAY calm.

COOPERATE. No amount of cash or property is worth getting hurt over.

DON'T fight back unless you determine that you are in danger of being killed. Instead, concentrate on getting information so you can be an effective witness.

LOOK carefully at the intruders, even if they are masked. Is there something unique about them such as scars, tattoos, large nose? What are they wearing? Listen to everything they say, and how they say it. Catch any distinguishing odors such as tobacco, alcohol, or aftershave.

Personal home safety means taking charge of your security at home and in the community. Involve your whole family in creating a personal home safety plan that fits your family needs. Get to know your neighbors and work with them to keep your neighborhood safe.

The police are committed to making your city a safer place to live. But they can't do it alone.

To keep our communities safe, we all have to work together.

 

Outstanding video and information.
I'll make sure my family sees it.
Thanks Bob.
Tim

 

Any one we know???

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (STMW) -- A man tried to force his way into the home of a northwest suburb woman Wednesday morning, then tried to use a stun gun on her until she started screaming for her roommate and scared the intruder away.

The home invasion happened about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of Falbrook Court in Schaumburg, which is in the area of Barrington Road and Old Church Road, a release from Schaumburg police said.

The 26-year-old woman answered her door after the doorbell rang and a man who claimed to be a neighbor asked to use her bathroom, saying his toilet was broken. The victim opened the door and the man immediately tried to use a stun gun on her, the release said.

The victim struggled with the man and screamed to her roommate, and when the man realized somebody else was in the home, he ran away. The victim suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalization, and nothing was taken from the home, police said.

The suspect was described as a heavy-set white man 45 to 55, 5-foot-11 and 270 pounds with with a large belly. He was wearing wire-rimmed prescription glasses, a gray pullover sweatshirt, jeans and a dark-colored stocking cap.

Schaumburg police are cautioning residents to use a peep hole or window to see who is at the door before opening the door, and warning them to use caution when opening the door to a stranger.

Anybody who may have seen a suspicious subject or vehicle in the area is requested to call police at (847) 882-3534.



She needs to move next door to me (or Dead eye Don)!

 

?

 

Looks like PFrank is back in action!

 

Robert,

Your slipping my friend.

Where is the very recent National story about the 18 year old mother who call 911, to ask if she could use her Shotgun to make mince meat of the guys trying to break into her trailer (somewhere in Illinois (I thought it was Illinois)?

And of course the dispatcher said do what you have to do to defend yourself, then she started to BLAST away!

 

I try to keep this local (Great Lakes,) that happend in Blanchard, Oklahoma.

The 911 operator told her “Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself, “I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.”

I guess her German Shepard didn't do it's job???

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/mom-...12-ga-shotgun/


A fund has been established in Sarah McKinley's name. Donations will be accepted at the Chickasha Bank and Trust, located at 1525 N. Council Road in Blanchard. Donations can also be mailed to the same bank at P.O. Box 548 in Blanchard, Okla., 73010.

 

Local -

Rockford Considers Endorsing Concealed-Carry By: Alex de Leon January 10, 2012

Rockford - Aldermen began talks on whether the Forest City should officially support a concealed-carry law in Illinois.

Before a committee makes its recommendation to the full council, some aldermen want to talk to local police officials to get a better understanding of how such a law could affect policing.

Illinois is currently the only state in the country without some form of concealed-carry.

 

I don't think she ever gave her German Sheperd the chance to do his job, she did it for him before he could react (via Mr. 12 Gauge)!

 

Around Town: Article II Gun World Range (fer yuz dat aint bin).

http://www.wgntv.com/videogallery/67...un-World-Range

 

Very nice Bob! That is an awesome range.

 

On March 7, 2012 the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day, also known to many as IGOLD, will occur in Springfield.

This is a phenomenal opportunity to reach out to the state legislature in person! What could make this a unique day is the opportunity to receive concealed carry training while on the bus ride to Springfield.

The bus will leave on March 7, 2012 at 6AM from the Fox Lake Police Department, 301 S IL Route 59, Fox Lake, IL. If you’d Just like to take the bus without the class, the cost is $25. If you’d like to take the bus and the class, the cost is $100. Registration is required and can be made online at www.anywhereccw.com

The Utah Concealed Firearm Permit Course is being targeted to non-Utah residents for several reasons. “As a non-Utah resident the permit is good to carry a concealed firearm in 31 states, including Wisconsin,” said Michael Moore. “The Utah Permit is also extremely economical,” he continued, “For an initial issuance fee of $65 you receive a permit that is valid for 5 years, and then only $15 to renew.”

“We’re trying to get as many people involved in exercising their Second Amendmentrights as possible, and getting a ‘CCW’ Permit is one excellent way,” he said. “This year our company, Anywhere CCW, LLC, is sponsoring a bus to Springfield from Fox Lake. We will be teaching the course on the bus ride to Springfield, a first of its kind for the event!”

The Utah Concea led Firearm Permit,as a non-Utah resident is honored in the following 31 states: Alaska, Alabama,Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky,Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

 

Print this and keep a copy in your range bag and all vehicles!!!

http://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/1-154.pdf

 

Thanks Bob. Printed and in my bag.

 

Madison - The state has fallen at least four days behind its legal timelines for handling background checks for Wisconsin's new concealed carry law but could be caught up as soon as this week, a state official said.

The state fell behind Dec. 30 on its obligations under the new law, which requires new applications to be handled within 21 days.

So far, nearly 71,000 people have applied for permits and swamped state officials at the Department of Justice, who have printed more than 51,000 so far. That comes as handgun sales and the state background checks for those sales reached record highs last year.

"It's just the volume (of applications), and everyone's been working as hard as they can to get these out," DOJ spokeswoman Dana Brueck said.

The state had 10 new workers start training to help handle the work on Jan. 3, and they are already processing some applications. But the state is not offering any financial compensation for those who paid the $50 fee for a license but who have to wait beyond the legal deadline.