Arizona Group Will Give Away Loaded Shotguns To ‘Take Back’ City From Criminals

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A Tucson, Arizona affiliate of the Armed Citizen Project will spend $12,000 on a new charitable initiative: handing out free shotguns in neighborhoods with high crime rates. According to the head of the Tucson initiative, an armed citizenry is the sensible solution to an underfunded police department facing budget cuts. The Arizona Daily Star writes:

“We need to take back our city, and it needs to come back to the citizens and not the criminals,” [Shaun] McClusky said. “Right now, the criminal element is winning.”

Over the next couple of weeks, McClusky and others will begin spreading leaflets and posting fliers in Midvale Park, Pueblo Gardens and a yet-to-be-determined midtown neighborhood to induce residents to sign up for the program.

McClusky, a failed mayoral candidate, likened gun violence to “saying spoons are responsible for making people fat,” even though armed citizens rarely stop violent crime, and their intervention can cause danger and bloodshed.

Tucson Councilman Steve Kozachik called the project “absolute lunacy.” “These people have lost their minds,” he said (sadly, they are far from the only ones).

Tucson is the site of an assassination attempt against former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) two years ago. Thirteen people were injured and six others were killed in the shooting.

(HT: Talking Points Memo)

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Utah Man Carries Rifle Into JC Penney To Defend Against ‘Criminals, Cartels, Drug Lords’ and ‘Evil Men’

(Photo Credit: AP/Cindy Yorgason)

A man in Utah was photographed at a JC Penney carrying around an unloaded version of the gun used in the Newtown tragedy to prove that guns aren’t as dangerous as they’re portrayed.

In addition to the unloaded rifle, a loaded Glock pistol was strapped to his hip when his picture was taken by shopper Cindy Yorgason on her cell phone camera. Speaking with the Salt Lake Tribune, the man — identified as 22-year old Joseph Kelley — said that he called the local police to let them know about his actions before he left his home and intended to display that weapons aren’t dangerous when handled by law-abiding citizens.

Kelley also said he was told that he was “well within his rights” and that bystanders’ reactions were positive.

“I felt no negative vibes from anyone,” Kelley said. “I think it went rather surprisingly well.”

Kelley added that he carries weapons to protect children and other people from “criminals, cartels, drug lords” and other “evil men.”

Kelley also holds a concealed-carry permit from the State of Utah and was formerly in the military. Utah has made the news several times lately in relation to their rather lax gun laws. A small town recently proposed every citizen owning a firearm, while a child at an elementary school in the state brought a handgun with him “for protection” in the days after the shooting at Sandy Hook. Utah currently has absolutely no waiting period in place for purchasing firearms.

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