Iowa is about to become Shall Issue.

Of course, this brings predictions of blood running in the streets and the OK Corral.

Here’s a bit about how the current “may issue” law works in one Iowa county, presented as proof that it’s just fine:

In Henry County, Sheriff Allen Wittmer has created a criteria on who is able to get a concealed weapons permit and who’s not qualified.

Under that criteria, those whose jobs require a firearm can be qualified to carry a weapon. The self employed also can get a permit if they collect and transport large sums of money or other valuables. Retired police officers also are qualified.

Wittmer, too, is in strong opposition to the law change.

“I did not support it,” Wittmer said. “There’s nobody that knows their constituents better than the sheriff. It’s totally taking the discretion away from the sheriff.”

Wittmer noted out of the 18 applications he received last year, nine were denied, just by merely following the county’s criteria.

“We have it working well here,” he noted. “We have a procedure in place that works in Henry County.”

So it sounds like the only people who get one in Henry County are people who require a gun for their jobs, people who transport large sums of money for their jobs, and people who are retired cops. So, unless your job necessitates it, only retired cops get permits.

That is a great example of a working may issue system. And a great example of why shall issue is the way to go.

Agents of Incompetence: ATF Dodges FOIA, Still Has Seized BB Guns

Somehow I’ve managed to miss this story until now. It appears that the Customs and Border Protection guys seized some airsoft guns in Washington back in February and claimed that they were real machine guns disguised as toys. They turned them over to the BATF who agreed.

When a Freedom of Information Act request was filed, they provided information about a different case from 2004.

Go read.

In the hotel here and just saw a news story about an incident in Boston where a couple of dogs attacked another resident’s poodle. Neighbors claim that the dogs, belonging to someone in the neighborhood, have been terrorizing folks for some time. The poodle’s owner had to pull the dogs off of the little dog and he was injured doing so. When police showed up, both dogs attacked them. So the cops ended up shooting and killing the dogs. Duh.

In the Fox 25 TV news report, the on-the-scene reporter made it clear (rightly, I believe, from what I know of the story) that he thought the cops were completely justified. But there is apparently a bit of a question about why they fired 11 shots. The reporter made the statement “I’m not sure why they even had that many bullets” which is crazy. Does he think that they run around with one round like Deputy Fife?

This sounds a lot like the thinking that seems to come up when gun owners carry a second magazine or speed loaders for their revolver: “If the gun is just for personal defense why would you have so many bullets?”

SayUncle:

more air marshals have been arrested than the number of people arrested by air marshals.

Arguing that More Guns = More Crime using crimes in Gun-Free areas as evidence.

Via Uncle.

Self-proclaimed vampire brings out Seattle SWAT

My guess is that the girls won’t be swooning over this cat.

Ex-cop pleads guilty in Katrina shootings

A former police lieutenant pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to obstruct justice after federal officials say he helped cover for officers who killed two people in the chaos following Hurricane Katrina.

Federal investigators say former Lt. Michael Lohman knew two people shot to death as they crossed the Danziger Bridge had no weapons, but he and others filed false reports to make the shootings seem justified. Four other people were wounded.

To serve and protect.

Minneapolis police officer Timothy Edward Carson was late to work on Wednesday because he was robbing a bank. Sources say he could be connected with “at least a dozen” bank robberies in the past couple of weeks.

“The bottom line with police work is ethics and trust and respect. He blew every one of them,” said Lt. John Delmonico, president of the Minneapolis Police Federation, of which Carson is a member. “Good luck to him in jail.”

Carson was stopped for a license plate violation, let go because he was an LEO, and robbed a bank. The officer who had pulled him over earlier and let him go was responding to the bank call when he spotted Caron’s vehicle headed away from the bank.

Busted.

Friend

Hero dog saves boy, 11, from cougar attack

A golden retriever named ‘Angel’ took on a pouncing cougar in British Columbia. A RCMP constable shot the cougar. Luckily, their office was nearby and he was able to respond very quickly.

“The dog and the cougar were all kind of tangled up as one unit,” he said. But he was able to see the big cat’s hindquarters and fired one shot, hoping to sever the animal’s spine.

When the cougar kept up its attack on Angel, Gravelle moved around to get in front of the cougar, which was less than 6 feet away.

“It was really dark out, and I was just trying to line up my shot as best I could. I could just see about two or three inches of the cougar’s head sticking out from behind Angel, and luckily I was able to get a good shot off,” Gravelle said.

Somehow, the dog managed to survive. She needed surgery, but it sounds like she’s going to be okay.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Oct. 27, 2009) Army Sgt. Brad Paxton and Sgt. Tim Brooder, assigned to Superior Training for Superior Response (STSR) and Goose Creek Police Department, provide instruction on how to utilize the high/low technique to maximize spread of fire toward aggressors to students assigned to Naval Weapons Station Charleston. (U.S. Navy photo by Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Juan Pinalez/Released)

Get a load of the rifles they’re using.

Story here: NWS Charleston New Police Officers Complete Tactical Training