I first saw the SUL position around the year 2000 during an advanced handgun class I was attending. (See photo for a visual of SUL.) Alan Brosnan and Max Joseph created SUL, Portuguese for south. They were teaching in Brazil with guys who didn’t have holsters. Once the problem was solved they needed a “safe” position to hold the handgun and the ability to work around others without muzzling anyone. After a short time people began using SUL for a variety of other applications, and this is when things got distorted.

The SUL position is a “safety” position, only to be used once the action was over; it’s basically an administrative position, an option to holstering the weapon. I’ve seen SUL used as a ready position, for clearing corners while searching buildings, for inside vehicles and as a retention position. SUL was never designed to be used for these applications, and in fact can put you at a disadvantage and be downright dangerous.

via Tiger McKee, Skill Set: SUL Position he Tactical Wire.

I remember reading about SUL way back then, (I think it was in SOF magazine) where the author commented that they needed a way to keep the guns pointed safely because the students had a nasty habit of shooting their fellow learners as  they could not stop playing with the guns. Typical of South Of The Border countries, not a whole lot of Gun Safety traditions mixed with unhealthy doses of machismo resulted in extra body holes applied without permission.

That SUL somehow became a tactical darling can only be explained by the stupid urge to look cool and be the kid/instructor with the new toy/tactic that nobody has. As time passes, I am more and more convinced that the Basic Pistolcraft as taught by Col Copper and Clint Smith is the way to go if you wanna have a solid foundation and effective combat skills.

…at least according to my wife.

Seriously, don’t do it. 😀

TALLAHASSEE – A bill prohibiting backyard shooting ranges was rejected at its first committee stop in the Florida House on Tuesday.

The bill, filed by state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, would have made it a misdemeanor to fire a gun on a residential property in many cases. Though supported by several local governments in Florida, including the cities of North Port and St. Petersburg, the influential National Rifle Association opposed the measure and it failed to secure enough votes to advance in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

via Bill to further limit residential gun use dies in committee | HeraldTribune.com.

This one most definitely had to go under. Although touted as for safety reasons and to control backyard ranges, it did nothing of such but tried to make ANY use of the firearm a misdemeanor even in Self-Defense.

What it did was to change the language of Florida Statutes 790.15 by eliminating the words “recklessly or negligently”:

790.15 Discharging firearm in public or on residential property.—
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or subsection (3), any person who knowingly discharges a firearm in any public place or on the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street, who knowingly discharges any firearm over the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street or over any occupied premises, or who recklessly or negligently discharges a firearm outdoors on any property used primarily as the site of a dwelling as defined in s. 776.013 or zoned exclusively for residential use commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Now imagine that it became law and suddenly any kind of shooting anywhere has become a misdemeanor: Self Defense, Target Practicing, hunting from a blind or structure, etc.

“But Miguel, damn it! That is not the intention.” Maybe, but do you want to take a chance with a really creative Prosecutor bent on making your life miserable?

I didn’t think so.

I wonder if Mr. Spock is a hated Star Trek character at the offices of the Cult Coalition to Stop Gun Rights Violence.  Check this one out:

So we have what appears to be a Straw Man transaction that sent straight from the store to the criminal underworld and yet, somehow CSGV figures that if UBCs were in place, maybe two gangbangers would suddenly decided to run background checks on each other and interrupt the sale because you know, they are felons and they would not dare break the law. I mean, murdering each other, dealing drugs, rape, etc all those are OK to do, but not perform a background check on a private transaction? Nevah!

And do notice that there is not outrage for the straw sale itself. You have to love their selective outrage.

I swear these people breathe because it is an autonomic bodily function. If it required any amount of logical thought, they would die reading the instructions.

While the Violence Policy Center still insists on pushing their clownish investigative report (cue ominous music) Concealed Carry Killers:

Real life apparently is better served by those awful “killers” with a gun strapped to their sides because penis:

Police say a 40-year-old man was inside the barbershop when he started fighting with another person inside. The altercation quickly escalated and the man pulled out a gun and opened fire.
At that point, authorities say, another unidentified man took out his own gun and the shot the gunman multiple times in the chest. He was rushed to Presbyterian Hospital where he later died from his injuries.“The person who responded was a legal gun permit carrier,” said Philadelphia Police Captain Frank Llewellyn. “He responded and I guess he saved a lot of people in there.”

via Man Shot Dead Inside West Philadelphia Barbershop « CBS Philly.

I bet the people in that barber shop are happy to have that “concealed carry killer” with them that day. Sure as hell a VPC member would have done nothing but bleed in unison with the rest of the victims.

I forgot who mentioned this before, but it is a swell idea from Ohio: Temporary Emergency License to carry a gun.

Temporary Emergency License

The law allows for the issuance of an emergency license without proof of competency certification under extraordinary circumstances. The law states that upon receipt of evidence of imminent danger; a sworn affidavit; an application fee of $15, plus the cost of either a BCI or FBI background check; and a set of applicant fingerprints, a license will be issued.

It lasts for 90 days which would also allow you the time to apply for a regular permit the normal way. Specially for cases of abused women under threat by their exes and that right now they only have a piece of paper and the hope that 911 can save them from somebody bent on harming them.

Hunting ain’t fun when the bunny shoots back.