« August 2008 | Main | October 2008 »
September 2008
So much for dialing 911
Account here. In Arizona, on the few times I or a relative have called 911, the reaction has been fast (even tho Pima County Sheriff's Office is stretched thin). That's not the case everywhere.
But is it NFA registered?
Video here. I've heard that ATF has opined that a shoelace, properly tied, can be an NFA weapon, but I don't know about catgut...
Permalink · National Firearms Act · Comments (5)
One fast rifle
2,000 rounds per minute, cyclic, set for a fast 3 round burst.
Hat tip to reader David McCleary....
VA open carry in parks OK
Virginia's Attorney General has ruled (pdf) that the State agency regulating its parks was without authority to promulgate a rule forbidding open carrying.
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (7)
A cert petition to watch
Question: is a requirement of unanimous vote to convict part of the Sixth Amendment, and is it incorporated against the States? The petition for cert. is up for vote in the first conference of the Supremes, likely to be announced in a few days.
The Sixth Amendment on its face says nothing about the question, but as the petition notes, it's quite clear that that was the practice, and the understanding, at the framing period. The idea of decision by less than a majority was, I suspect, an innovation of overloaded courts. The issue puts a judicial decisionmaker in a bit of a dilemma. The Sixth calls for juries "in all criminal proceedings," but the practice has been to limit them to major criminal cases, based on framing-era practices. I can't easily see how that can be reconciled with allowing less than unanimous findings, based on the same practices.
Permalink · General con law · Comments (9)
Conflicting news out of NJ
Story here. On the one hand, the Court of Appeals upheld a ruling striking down Jersey City's one-gun-a-month ordinance. On the other, a bill to impose the same limitation statewide is moving ahead.
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (2)
A slip
Sensibly Progressive takes on a grad student, publishing in the Yale campus newspaper.
The grad student begins by demonstrating that crime rates rose after Connecticut went to "shall issue" CCW in 1969. The minor problem being that Connecticut isn't "shall issue," and nobody was passing "shall issue" laws in 1969; the only laws being enacted back then were more and more restrictions on firearms.
MO governor takes on the Obama Truth Squad
“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.
This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.
Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”
Oh, and Damnum Absque Injuria unloads on them, too. He makes the governor sound mild:
"Apparently, it’s not enough for Barack the Bully to have the Washington Post, the New York Times, the L.A. Times Jake Tapper, Annenberg Political (humorously known as “Factcheck.org”) and every other mainstream media outlet in its pocket. No, that’s not good enough; you got to stop the paid ads, too. What good would Pravda or Neues Deutschland have been if they ran paid editorials from dissidents? ... Enter Robert F. Bauer, the scum attorney serving as General Counsel to another scum attorney currently seeking the Presidency."
Good legal analysis there, too.
Hat tip to reader Jack Anderson...
Gun Rights Policy Conference
Just got back from it, tired as can be. Some notes in wrap up:
Alan Gura was appropriately commended, gave a speech, and received a standing ovation. Two, actually, if my foggy memory is correct.
I rec'd Citizens' Committee's Bill of Rights Award. (I thought the awards were over when the last speaker got it, so I stepped outside for a bit -- when Peggy Tartaro found me, I had to rush back in and improvise a speech on the fly).
Sandy Froman gave a good speech endorsing John McCain. At the evening reception, Bob Barr spoke, noting (quite correctly) that he is the most pro-gun candidate in the presidential race. Tim Bee, running for the US House here, also spoke of his pro-gun stands.
One fellow (not an official speaker) told of having lived in Scotland, and seeing a friend prosecuted for weapons possession. He kept a baseball bat in his car, lest the neighborhood thugs, who had threatened him, beat him up. He admitted that when pulled over for a random breathalyzer (no 4th Amendment there, so they can do it at random). And wound up convicted and fined for having possessed a defensive weapon. The judge said something about we have to stop this country from becoming a "Wild West." No concern about the thugs already making it along those lines.
Don Kilmer mentioned that he and Don Kates would be filing a 14th Amendment brief in the 9th Circuit, in Nordyke, on Tuesday. In his presentation, he had to take a while to explain just how Nordyke is still pending, six or seven years after filing.
John Lott spoke, with an interesting point. He'd held a fellowship at Univ. of Chicago School of Law, when Obama was a prof. or sorta-prof. there, and they talked a few times. The first time Obama said "oh, you're the gun guy." When he said that he was, Obama said "I don't believe people should be allowed to own guns." Lott said maybe they should talk about it. Obama just smirked and left without a word. Lott noted that he is happy to debate the topic fairly; he's often had Cass Sunstein, who is very anti-2A, to his house for dinner and they debate gun control amicably. But not Obama.
UPDATE: as John Lott points out in comments below, he didn't say that Cass Sunstein was very anti-2A: that was my note, not part of his speech.
UPDATE: I didn't hear Barr talk about the Lautenberg Amendment, and don't know about his vote on it. By then I was exhausted, and largely talking to other gunnie attorneys outside. Personally, I'll vote for Palin and the old guy, too, because my State is "in play,: if it were not I'd vote for Barr, just to elevate the vote count of a guy who is far better than the other contenders on the key issue to me.
The ultimate in live blogging
At the Gun Rights Conference, right now I'm at the head table. David Kopel is speaking, I'm next up, Just before this adjusting the legal end of concerns from the hotel about open carry (legal in AZ, and the ability of a public facility has to provide lockers if it wants to restrict it). Probably some tourists got upset; you can guess the reaction of someone from NYC to seeing open carry with no one concerned.
Alan Gura had a great remark, a luncheon speaker. Understand, there are predictable stages of recovering from grief. Anger -- how could they have left us? Guilt over that. Denial -- just refuse to accept that happened. And finally acceptance -- it did happen, I can't change it.
His remark -- the other side is working their way thru the stages of grief. They started with denial, then anger, and we hope they someday reach acceptance.
The ultimate in live blogging
At the Gun Rights Conference, right now I'm at the head table. David Kopel is speaking, I'm next up, Just before this adjusting the legal end of concerns from the hotel about open carry (legal in AZ, and the ability of a public facility has to provide lockers if it wants to restrict it). Probably some tourists got upset; you can guess the reaction of someone from NYC to seeing open carry with no one concerned.
Alan Gura had a great remark, a luncheon speaker. Understand, there are predictable stages of recovering from grief. Anger -- how could they have left us? Guilt over that. Denial -- just refuse to accept that happened. And finally acceptance -- it did happen, I can't change it.
His remark -- the other side is working their way thru the stages of grief. They started with denial, then anger, and we hope they someday reach acceptance.
Last speaker is John Monroe of Georgiacarry.org. Mentions they're a new group, have already brought 13 test cases, ten wins so far. Just took a loss in federal court. They sued Atlanta over an airport that forbade carry, over a statute that clearly includes airport common areas within its preemption.
At the Gun Rights Policy Conference
Here at the Sheraton Crescent in Phoenix. Very solid attendance -- best head count I can make is around 400 people. I've bumped into Chuck Cunningham, Dave Kopel, Scott Hattrup, Timothy Wheeler, John Velleco, Scott Bach Alan Gura, and Howard Nemerov.
Obama Campaign continues to try to cut off NRA ads
Here's the latest: a page where members can mass email TV station management.
UPDATE AND WARNING: read the comments. Apparently their webpage is sneaky enough to include an anti-NRA attachment on your message, no matter what text you enter for the message.
I went up on it, gave a fictitious name, address and email, and sent the stations an email thanking and encouraging them. One of the webpages (you go thru three to send the mail) has the following: "Time and again, Barack has defended citizens’ Constitutional right to bear arms, as well as the rights of sportsmen and hunters. " These folks really are shameless.
FFL found innocent of straw man charges
Story here. The story, at least, doesn't suggest there was reason to suspect the dealer, but when ATF caught a felon in possession (and with drugs) they let him walk in exchange for trying to set the dealer up. The jury didn't buy it.
Permalink · Gun Control Act of 68 · Comments (5)
Threats to Missourians who dare to oppose Obama
Video here.
Gist is that an "Obama Truth Squad" (using that title) is being organized, specifically composed of prosecutors and sheriffs, to respond immediately to any ads or "statements" that might violate Missouri ethics laws.
I can see nothing wrong with a squad that rebuts the other side or lays out its version of the truth. But word that an organization of police and prosecutors is going to go after opponents of a candidate, and see if they can nail them under state law (when they haven't spoken yet) is simply and crudely an attempt to chill free speech.
PA court throws out Philadelphia's challenge
Story here. I figured it was just some politicos' publicity stunt anyway -- a city sues the State over its pre-emption laws. The PA Court of Appeals held that, under those laws, Philiadelphia's one-gun-a-month and its "assault weapon" ordinances were invalid.
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (1)
FoxNews on NRA "Fact Check"
Story here. I'm not holding my breath on the rest of the media picking it up.
Hat tip to reader Jack Anderson....
Permalink · media · Comments (0)
CCW permit revoked for legal open carry
Soccer mom in Pennsylvania has a CCW permit, but open carries to soccer games -- as is legal, permit or no. The other moms say this makes them "uncomfortable," and the sheriff revokes her CCW permit.
Hat tip to Eric Schultz and Mark Noble (who's a candidate for US Congress in Ohio-15).
Permalink · CCW licensing · Comments (19)
Obama campaign tries to get stations to refuse NRA ads
Story here, with links to the campaign's letter and NRA's response.
The letter is pretty thin, not much more than (1) the Washington Post denies what NRA argues, so it must be a pack of lies and (2) the ads say Obama "supports" things ... OK, he *supported* them in the past, but it's not on his webpage at this moment.
When will people learn? Upon hearing "you should not be allowed to see this," every real American feels a Pavlovian urge to see it at once, even if it's a Sanskrit manual on chariot repair.
"Fact checking" sites
An interesting article from NPR. Basically, most people prefer the sites that are clearly partisan to those which purport to be nonpartisan. I suppose there would be two things driving this. (1) We all like to hear our views reinforced. (2) You're probably more likely to approximate the truth by reading avowedly partisan views of both sides. The supposedly nonpartisan fact check sites may tend to be too much like the MSM, objective only in their own eyes, as the battle over the NRA TV ads indicates.
Senate blocks rollback of DC gun regulations
Story here.
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (7)
Obama spokesman gets grilled on Fox over NRA ads
Breitbart video here. The interviewer eats the Obama spokesman for lunch.
Hat tip to reader Jim Kindred...
Permalink · Politics · Comments (1)
Chicago antigunners trying to win friends and influence people
If they can't get their way, they'll block access to State buildings until Mommy Gives In.
Somebody oughta write the Curia about "Father" Pfleger. I think Benedict would take a dim view of such things, even if the guy's bishop apparently doesn't (unless he touts a presidential candidate, which can put the tax exemption at issue).
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (0)
NFA: NFRTR challenged
News release here.
Background: the National Firearms Act of 1934 requires tax payment, and thus registration, of full autos, short barreled firearms, etc. In any NFA prosecution, the government must prove the gun is unregistered and that the tax wasn't paid on the transfer to the current possessor. To do that, it produces a certificate or testimony from the people who keep the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
It's pretty clear that the NFRTR has big problems, the only question is how big. For its first half century, it was simply a gigantic collection of paper files, rising to a hundred thousand or so, with great opportunity for someone checking out a file, or a document, and losing it. Even after they automated it, there was opportunity for typing in the wrong serial number, etc.. A few years ago a video of a HQ ATF fellow got loose, with him saying they'd always testify that the record was 100% accurate, tho they knew that wasn't the case. Think he said older entries had a 50% error rate and newer ones had gotten than down to 10%.
UPDATE: here's the video. As I recall, YouTube wasn't around back then, or at least not popular.
This was known to be a big problem as early as the 1980s, when there were internal studies and internal memos documenting it as a serious problem.
Hat tip to Say Uncle.
Permalink · National Firearms Act · Comments (1)
NY case against traveller dismissed
Story here. It doesn't name the person, but I know of several arrests at NYC area airport where someone, for example, missed a connection or had a flight cancelled, had firearms in properly checked baggage, but had to retrieve them and check them in again, and were arrested under the NY gun laws. That's clearly covered under the Firearm Owners' Protection Act, 18 USC 926A. That section essentially immunizes a legit traveller from state gun laws provided his possession was legal where he began and where he ended his trip, and the firearm on the trip is stowed in a certain manner.
Chuckle--as I remember, I drafted that section. The first part deals with firearms being transported while stashed outside the passenger compartment. The second provides for vehicles lacking a passenger compartment. That got in because a good friend was a motorcyclist and when I showed him the draft he said "what about us motorcyclists?" because those vehicles don't have a passenger compartment.
Permalink · Gun Control Act of 68 · Comments (12)
Blackhawk holsters
Here's the Gun Blogger .45 housed in a Blackhawk Serpa holster; click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.
Their holsters were quite interesting. Made of carbon fiber, if I remember. One model has a detent holding the gun; this one had both detent and a finger lever, engaged by the trigger finger, and which holds the front of the trigger guard. (I had problems with it because my fingers are too long, but the detent model worked nicely).
On the reverse side are three screws that hold the body of the holster to its belt connection. You can switch between standard belt and paddle configuration. You can also angle it straight, or up to about 45 degrees forward or back by adjusting the screws. Separate controls allow you to adjust for width of belt. All in all, a very nice holster!
UPDATE: the problem with long fingers is this: if I lay my finger in the usual position, just straight along the holster, its tip goes may 1/2" beyond the end of the latch. Thus I'm pushing, not with the last segment of my finger, which would do nicely, but really with the joint area between that and the middle segment of the finger. The joint has to flex backward a little to push it, which means exerting a fair amount of pressure, and the last finger segment pressing hard against the holster (not the lever). If the lever were just 1/2" lower it'd be perfect for me (and then probably too long for others).
I experimented with bending the finger a bit and using the tip, but found that sometimes the finger then went into the trigger guard. Maybe 5% of the time. That'd not be a problem with these double actions, but not something I'd care for with a single action.
BTW, the Serpa is otherwise excellent in these regards. The trigger area is blocked off by the holster while the gun is holstered, so you can't get your finger into the guard. The latch area has ridges on either side to guide your trigger finger and make sure it goes straight back and doesn't drop into the trigger guard when you draw. A very nice design, unless you have overly long digits (and pretty good even then).
Science deals with deer hunting camo
Article at the NY Times Blog. Which probably explains most of the comments.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (0)
NRA ads churning up a battle
NRA is running anti-Obama TV ads, and FactCheck.org claims that they're false. Gist of the article seems to be: NRA says Obama is antigun, Obama's campaign denies it, therefore NRA must be lying. Duh....
It's being picked up by pro-Obama blogs under titles such as "Fact checkers find that National Rifle Association is spreading flat-out lies".
National Review Online has a point-by-point rebuttal of the FactCheck article.
Here's a narrower but more detailed critique of some of the FactCheck claims. And here's another.
Permalink · Politics · Comments (7)
A great obituary
Right here.
Hat tip to Bernie Oliver.
UPDATE: via reader J. Norman Heath comes this obit. One gathers that the survivors had their differences with the deceased.
Gun blog gun got here!
It got here today! Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.
It is SO sweet! Basically, a custom edition of the Para USA LDA TAC-5.
The TAC-5 is a 1911 with a LIGHT double-action trigger (feels to be about 5-7 lb), ramped barrel (reported to feed lead semiwadcutters), full-length guide rod, enamel brown finish (no worries about fingerprints causing rust), loaded chamber indicator, and a greatly beefed up extractor (the extractor being the 1911's only weak point). It's a double action that will appeal to 1911 fans like me. As in "I don't care that it's double action, give me a manual safety!"
A bit heavier than a stock 1911, but I don't mind that, and it tends to steady the aim. And very reliable, the only misfeeds came when I shot it dry (500 rounds plus without oil, and cured by 6-8 drops of oil. At that, I shot it out of new in box, so it may not have had much oil to begin with. I've previous blogged footage of Jarrett shooting 1,000 rounds in ten minutes, to where the trigger was too hot to touch, with the gun still feeding). If, as reported, it feeds even lead semi-wadcutters, it ought to feed about anything. I have some jacketed wadcutters, and will test it with those.
The gun blog edition has special markings, adjustable sights red-dot sights, and laser sight grips from Crimson Trace. The grip sights, BTW, are adjustable and, once the on switch is activated, come on only when the trip safety is depressed, so saving batteries. Todd Jarrett showed how the laser sight can be used to diagnose grip and aiming problems. And how, if you want to keep the bad guy from knowing you are coming, you can raise your trigger finger to block the beam, then drop into the trigger guard when taking aim. The beam appears to be about 2" wide at 50 yards. Jarrett mentioned shooting at night with it on a Para gun out to 100 yards and ringing 6" plates with regularity. That's beyond my skill but apparently within that of the gun and laser.
Para includes muzzle wrench, spare plastic for the red-dot sight and the tools to replace the plastic, as well as a CD-ROM on use. Plus a target shot by one of their people before the gun was packed.
It is SO sweet!!! By far the nicest handgun I've ever had. I'd say I can't wait to shoot it, but at Blackwater I already put about 1,000 rounds thru it. So I'll just say I can't wait until I shoot it next.
I've never shot a double-action semi before, but this convinced me. One of the Glock shooters said they were going to sell their Glock. They reported one problem, that if the trigger was pulled before releasing the safety the gun wouldn't fire until recycled. I tested it and it happens but it's not a matter of putting a little pressure on, you have to pull the trigger back a good distance before releasing the safety. As a 1911 shooter who would never drop the safety while pulling the trigger, let alone while pulling it back about half its travel, I tend to see that as a safety feature rather than a problem. That's why the manual safety is there!
Couple it with the Blackhawk utility belt and holster, and I've found a new carry gun. (Understand, out here carry gun doesn't mean everyday carry, but for when you're out in the desert. I don't go 50 yards from the car without canteen and firearm in the desert.
Field & Stream interviews the candidates
Right here.
Obama:
Chuckle. His explanation of his "clinging to guns and faith" remark: "What they do expect is at the very least they can preserve those traditions that have been so important to them, like hunting, like their faith. That ends up being the focus of their attention [rather than economic issues]. "
Does he agree with Heller? No real answer: "hat I think it has done is provided some clarity that, in fact, the Second Amendment is an individual right and that law-abiding gun owners can't be prevented from going out and hunting, protecting their family on their own. That doesn't mean that, as Justice Scalia and the Supreme Court noted, it doesn't mean that we can't have some common-sense gun control legislation out there-for example, background checks, making sure that we're keeping guns out of the hands of criminals or people who have mental illnesses. The important point is that I am very mindful of the fact that sportsmen in America may have gone hunting with their fathers, their grandfathers, their mothers, their grandmothers, and that this is part of a tradition and a way of life that has to be preserved. And there's nothing that I will do as president of the United States that will in any way encroach on the ability of sportsmen to continue that tradition."
Does he include AW bans and registration as "common-sense" gun regulation? " I think that when it comes to the assault weapons ban, the answer is yes. I think AK-47s generally are not used for hunting. AK-47s or vest-piercing bullets are generally used to hurt people. And I think that it's legitimate for us to say military-style weapons that aren't traditionally used for purposes other than killing people, we've got to be careful about. But I'll be honest with you. I'm more interested in enforcing the laws that we do have-for example, tracing guns that are used in crimes back to people who have been using them. I don't anticipate that there's going to be a whole slew of efforts at the federal level when it comes to gun control. But I think that strong background checks; making sure that we're dealing with the gun-show loophole, which I think has been a problem; allowing us to trace guns that are used in crimes back to where they were purchased--those are the kinds of initiatives that I think pose no threat whatsoever to law-abiding gun owners."
McCain:
Does the 2nd Amendment confer an individual right? "Absolutely. Absolutely."
Would you support an AW ban? "No."
How about a high-cap magazine ban? "No. Because we quickly get into an academic discussion--what's high-capacity? What's a banana clip?"
What issue is most likely to cause friction between you and gun owners? " Probably [that] I favor the closing of the gun-show loophole. In other words, when it's a small transaction. I do not support restrictions on family exchanges. But I think that gun shows are marvelous, and we now have the capability for instant background checks. That person that perpetrated the tragedy at [Virginia Tech in] Blacksburg should never have had access to a weapon because of his history. But I have favored the closing of the gun-show loophole. That's probably one of them, but I'm a strong supporter of gun shows, strong supporter of the Second Amendment, strong record in that area. So that probably may be one of those things. But I'm very proud of my record."
Do you own a gun? "I do not. I have used weapons most of my adult life in the military from when I first entered the Naval Academy, being out on the rifle and pistol range. I carried a pistol in combat. Never got a chance to use it [laughs]. So I'm very familiar. But I just haven't gotten into hunting. I have a son who's a hunter."
UPDATE: a reader points out that the interview of "the candidates" was really an interview of the two major party candidates. For example, Bob Barr, a thoroughly pro-gun candidate, was omitted since he's Lib rather than Demo or GOP.
Hat tip to reader Jack Anderson...
Thoughts on the media
I've been doing some 14th Amendment research, reading newspapers of 1866-68. One thing is striking: they actually reported news then. The change has been so gradual that we can't see it (I've seen the alternative my entire life). But back then the New York Times would report, say:
A concise summary of what happened to the 14th Amendment that day in Congress. Rep. ___ moved to change it by adding these words, Rep. ___ opposed, arguing this way.
On days with really important action -- e.g., the day when Sen. Howard introduced it, with a speech, in the Senate -- they'd devote a page or more to setting out a transcript, or near-transcript paraphrase, of the floor speeches. The Times then didn't even have an editorial page!! The closest I could find was two issues (out of many I read) that had a long letter to the editor, like a modern op-ed, arguing about the amendment.
Today, of course, it'd be all their interpretation of events. With lots of articles on how this side was trying to spin it this way, and the other side was hoping to do something else, and nothing approaching giving you what was really said and done.
Someday I'll try to find out when the transition came. Might even be with advent of radio and TV, when it was hardly feasible to give details and the talking head became the rule. Perhaps that carried over into the print media? Or maybe not.
I've read Arizona Territory newspapers of the 1870s-1890s, and they were much the same. All were quite partisan, but their version of that consisted of printing their party's platform. Again, telling you what happened rather than interpreting it. They made no secret of their partisan nature. Today's Arizona Republic was then the Arizona Republican, and there was, if I recall, a Tucson Democrat. And these were published by people, not institutions. Often a paper would have an editorial quoting a rival paper's editorial and arguing it was all pap.
UPDATE: Yup, reporters were more respected then. I recall reading of the Civil War ... at one point Grant needs to get a message to President Lincoln, so he just sends it with a reporter who is going to DC. He adds a verbal message. The reporter only reveals that years after the event; Grant told him that it was for Lincoln alone. After Shiloh, I think, Grant for the only time gets blind drunk and passes out. A reporter (with whom he was riding) throws his coat over him to hide his stars if anyone rides by, and only reveals the event long after the war is over. A reporter is within earshot of Grant giving orders to his commanders, and is chastised -- you're not supposed to listen in at this level! Nobody thought anything unusual of a reporter traveling with army headquarters, it's just that there's an unwritten rule you won't actually listen in to Grant and Meade giving orders for the day. No need for interviews: you're there when everything is happening, out riding and drinking with them, etc.
Permalink · media · Comments (5)
New Korwin/Kopel book bout
"The Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed.". I've got a chapter in it. It's selling at a pre-release discount for at least a few more days (I think it's printed and en route to him).
Obama's not much of a speaker
Gad, here's some YouTube video of him when his teleprompter broke down. I've heard comment that he's good reading a teleprompter and helpless otherwise, but this is pitiful. He must not have done courtroom work, is all I can say.
Permalink · Politics · Comments (4)
Legal thoughts on the Palm Pistol
The inventor of the Palm Pistol has added, not only the ATF approval letter, but Steve Halbrook's letter to ATF, which goes into much more legal detail. (It's all one pdf file, Steve's letter follows that of the ATF). The key argument appears to be that a "pistol" has a "grip" (whereas 19th century palm pistols did not) that is at an angle to the bore (which cane guns, etc. do not satisfy). It's all pretty arbitrary, of course -- but then the pistol vs. "any other weapon" distinction has always been. And AOW only got into NFA because of a quirk in how the statute was drafted and then amended ... it's not like the gangsters of 1934 were running around shooting at each other with palm guns from the 1890s, or guns built into a gentleman's walking cane.
Permalink · National Firearms Act · Comments (5)
Gun Rights Policy Conference this weekend
Here are the details. It's being held in Phoenix, and speakers include Bob Barr, Alan Gura, David Kopel, Alan Korwin, David E. Young, and your humble servant. David Young will be bringing his latest book, and I'll be bringing my documentary, for a bit of marketing.
UPDATE: I rec'd the agenda about four minutes ago, and have pasted it in extended remarks below.
Continue reading "Gun Rights Policy Conference this weekend"
New Orleans residents buying guns
Just as in Florida, hurricanes boost gun sales, as people realize they may just be on their own for a time.
Hat tip to reader Rich, who notes the reporter does need to learn a little about the subject. "First-time gun owners, Robertson said, should bypass automatic weapons and purchase a single shot revolver instead." Yep, you probably shouldn't start out with an NFA, but I don't know where you'd find that single shot revolver.
Not AGAIN!
Understand, this is a Virginia (African-American) who has a CCW permit but likes to open carry. In the past he's picked up his girlfriend, who works at a bank, and the Norfolk police have given him lots of trouble, as in publicly frisking him, handcuffing him, putting him in a squadcar, etc. Not once, but a number of times. As a result of which he filed a civil rights lawsuit and just got a $10,000 settlement.
So he gets on a bus, open carrying, and guess what happens?.
CCW licenses up in Florida
Now one in 35 residents has one. An official notes applications surge in the aftermath of hurricanes. And its crime rate and violent crime rate is falling. What? How can that be?
Permalink · CCW licensing · Comments (5)
AHSA tries to defend itself
A puff piece in the
The NRA leadership knows we are right and that is why their attacks are based upon half-truths, innuendo and character assassination. That being said, let’s look at some hard facts.
Ray Schoenke, AHSA president, has been a gun owner and avid hunter all his life. He has been fortunate enough to have hunted all over the world. He owns a 300-acre hunting farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and is an outspoken advocate for preserving and protecting our precious wild resources. His notable professional football career with the Washington Redskins in the 1960s and 1970s as well as his success in building a multi-million dollar insurance business opened doors for Ray in the powerful world of Washington DC politics. Washington DC policy makers, including two presidents, have sought Ray’s counsel on conservation and business issues.
OK, he'd like you to know that he's richer than Midas. Not quite sure what that has to do with the gun issue.
Critics say that Ray is anti-gun because he has made campaign contributions to some high profile Senate Democrats who are not considered pro-gun.
A search for his contributions on Open Secrets.com turns up totals of:
$5,000 to Brady Campaign (then HCI, I assume their PAC);
$2,000 to Barbara Boxer;
$2,000 to Ted Kennedy;
$1,000 to Bill Clinton.
Yep, some could say they were "not considered" particularly "pro-gun."
What the critics don’t mention is that Ray has spent millions of his own dollars supporting pro-gun candidates like Congressman John Dingell, challenging Maryland’s notorious anti-gun governor Paris Glendenning, answering the call to serve on the governing board of the Civilian Marksmanship Program, serving on the transition team of Republican pro-gun Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich and, covering much of the start-up costs of AHSA.
.
Can't find any trace of a contribution to John Dingell; the Open Secrets database goes back to 2002 for candidates and 1990 for soft money.
Ray’s wife Nancy is also connected politically. Like many wives of gun owners she is an independent thinker and does not like guns. She took a seat on the board of the Brady Campaign but soon became frustrated with the group’s lack of progress.
Not frustrated with their agenda. Frustrated that they didn't win at it.
Ray told her that progress would not be made until gun owners were allowed to bring their common sense perspective to the table.
Translation: Brady Campaign won't be successful until I can hornswaggle some gun owners into backing its agenda. We need to create a false-flag operation that will operate in tandem with it.
As a result, Nancy closed the family checkbook, resigned from the Brady board, and encouraged Ray to start AHSA.
I suppose it would have been too obvious to remain on its board while forming the false-flag operation. As far as her closing the checkbook, Open Secrets says the Brady/HCI contribution came from HIS checkbook, not hers.
Bob Ricker, AHSA executive director, is a recognized expert on gun policy issues and the gun rights movement. He has served as a former assistant general counsel for NRA and top lobbyist for the firearm industry.
Before he got unceremoniously released from that job. When the gun manufacturers' attorneys questioned him about what he had said in that job on behalf of the firearms industry, he responded "“I was paid to put forth that position.". Yep, sure sounds like he was being pro-gun.
From the nation’s capital to the west coast, Bob spent more than twenty years successfully representing gun makers and leading gun rights organizations before the United States Congress and various state legislatures.Following in the traditions of the National Alliance of Stocking Gun Dealers (NASGD) Executive Director Bill Bridgewater and former Smith & Wesson CEO Ed Shultz, Ricker believes that the greatest threat to gun rights could be found in the reluctance of the gun industry to clean up its own act. Ricker’s courage in speaking out for change led some extremists to attempt to intentionally distort his motives.
'Nuff said. He thought (or could be paid to say) that the gun industry is corrupt. What he earlier said in its support was a matter of drawing his paycheck.
When many of the nation’s largest cities started suing the gun industry, Bob’s expertise was called upon to defend the industry
Let's see. Hiring out at $225/hour to testify for the people suing them. That doesn't exactly sound like defending the industry.
despite the fact that he no longer worked for the gun-makers. As we all know, witnesses can face perjury charges if they do not tell the truth, and Bob’s testimony cut both ways. In some cases it helped the firearm industry; in some it hurt. Critics have tried to allege that Ricker’s testimony meant he was a turncoat.
In other words, he was hired to attack them, but their attorneys pinned him on things in cross exam.
The fact remains Ricker took an oath to tell the truth and some bad actors within the gun industry got hurt.
Strange that they don't name these "bad actors" who got "hurt".
That does not mean he’s anti-gun; it means he’s honest. Some also criticize the fact that like most expert witnesses involved in litigation he was paid a reasonable rate for his time spent on the case. What the critics won’t say is that Bob was paid the same rate by both the industry and the city plaintiffs for the time he spent in court."
Facts: (1) Nobody has to volunteer as an expert witness. Actually, he didn't quite volunteer: he was paid $225-250 an hour by the groups suing the gun manufacturers. (2) As far as being paid by the industry, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that you pay an expert witness on the other side if you want to take his testimony via deposition.
On the side he consults for the "Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence," (see the same link), which is an arm of what used to be named the National Coalition to Ban Handguns.
Many of AHSA’s critics like to mention that John Rosenthal an AHSA founding board member was also the founder of Boston based Stop Handgun Violence, a gun violence prevention group that has advocated some of the nation’s strictest gun laws.
False-flag ops have a problem because they don't know how to fake the lingo. A profoundly anti-gun group is here described as "a gun violence prevention" group. Sorry, that's anti-gunner lingo. Take a look at their webpage, and tell me if this founder of AHSA, is pro-gun.
John, an avid skeet shooter, came to the shooting world in an unusual way. He’s a very successful urban real estate developer and saw first-hand how gun crime was not only destroying his city but also his business investments. Like Nancy Schoenke, he too served on the Brady board until frustration set in.
Frustration, like hers, that they weren't winning. By the way, a check at Open Secrets shows Rosenthal's political contributions:
$10,000 to Brady Campaign (then HCI);
$2,000 to Ted Kennedy;
$500 to Hillary Clinton;
$250 to Carolyn McCarthy;
John quit Brady and helped finance and build AHSA. In the spring of 2007, John resigned from the AHSA board over some fundamental policy issue differences and is now devoting his efforts to Stop Handgun Violence.
Wonder what the fundamental policy differences were? A more likely cause is that the group was starting to take criticism because his position made the false-flag pretty obvious. So he left the false-flag and went back to being overtly anti-gun.
Critics also like to dredge up the old John Lott, a conservative pro-gun lecturer and author, allegation that AHSA is merely front group for the Democratic Leadership Council. Lott, ever the conspiracy theorist, reasoned that because the AHSA’s internet technology consultant, DCS Congressional, was located in the same large Washington DC office building as the DLC that AHSA was just a front group.
Interesting that, if you check Schoenke's contributions via the , you find he's contributed $25,000 to "DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE."
If anything, I'm shocked at how obvious these clowns are. A false-flag operation should be subtle. Here's a supposedly pro-gun group that was founded by two Brady Campaign directors and well-paid expert witness for the groups suing gun manufacturers. They endorsed Obama's candidacy, saying he had a "fundamental understanding of the meaning of the 2nd Amendment."
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (8)
Monks with guns?
In Burma, the Buddhist monks are the value of arms against a despotic government.
When they get down to Old Nuns with guns ... that's a prospect that would have had Stalin begging for mercy....
Reader Trap Tee emails with word that it's already happened, in Kosovo:
Kosovo's nuns take up arms
Independent, The (London), Aug 23, 1998 by Paul Wood
SISTER Anastasija, calm and serene during most of our conversation, became
animated on the subject of the weaponry held at the Orthodox convent of
Devic in central Kosovo. "God is looking at you," she cautioned, explaining
that a TV picture of one of "the nuns with the guns" had been used for
anti-Serbian propaganda.
The order of nine nuns have now acquired "six or seven" 9mm automatic
pistols - to be worn discreetly under the habit within the convent, or
placed close to hand in the fields. "They are just small pistols, not great
big rifles," Sister Anastasija said. "We're all women. We go through
the forest or to our land and all we have is one small pistol each. There's a
war here." (snip)
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980823/ai_n14181165
Permalink · non-US · Comments (8)
More on "the other NRA"
Here's a pic, from a reader, of a National Recovery Administration meal sign that once hung in a store:
From another reader comes a discussion of the mail chaos when the National Rifle Association and the National Recovery Administration were officed in the same building:
"Sacks of targets, used in NRA tournaments, were delivered to puzzled clerks in the offices of the National Recovery Administration, while the National Rifle Association staff sorted through pleas for financial aid to locate its own correspondence. The problem was not fully solved until May 12, 1935, when the Supreme Court voided the National Industrial Recovery Act."
James B. Trefethen, Americans and Their Guns 229 (1967).
Permalink · NRA · Comments (5)
Fed. district court rules for FFL
Story here. The court turned down the usual rationale for license revocation, that a continuing series of errors proves the required "willfulness." I always thought that shaky. To log a firearm out to a customer requires 43 entries, if we count the 4473 and the bound book. If we suppose a human error rate of only a tenth of one percent that would still mean one error per 20 firearms. And that can't be changed by the dealer getting a warning; he still has to use human beings.
The Palm Pistol
An interesting invention -- a modern palm pistol. Invented by activist Matt Carmel. It can be fired by a person who lacks the dexterity to work a slide, has nothing to snag on clothing, and is probably more accurate in untrained hands than a traditional firearm. I'd see it not as something a pistolero would carry, but as something for a person who needs protection but doesn't have the opportunity to learn standard shooting skills.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (13)
Ohio court strikes down city ban on guns in parks.
Opinion, in pdf, here. The suit was brought by Ohioans for Concealed Carry, and challenged a city ban on guns in parks, as applied to CCW licensees, since the State law said a licensee could carry other than in specified areas (which did not include parks). The city's argument was based on the home-rule provisions of the State constitution, giving cities the power to regulate local matters. The four judge majority concluded that the State intended to create a State-wide standard for licensed carry, so it was not purely a local matter. The three judge minority argued that the ability of private property owners to restrict carry meant that it was not truly a State-wide standard, but one that varied from place to place, and hence a city could regulate it.
UPDATE: Eugene Volokh has a detailed critique of the dissent.
Hat tip to reader Mark Noble (who incidentally is running for Congress in Ohio-15).
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (0)
Fellow arrested during DNC convention released
Story here. Sounds like a false arrest suit in the making. Not knowing of the convention, he checks into a Denver hotel with two hunting rifles and two handguns, all in cases. Nancy Pelosi is staying at the hotel, so over this they "evacuate" her (guns in the same building!). He winds up arrested for "unlawfully carrying a weapon," which (unless Colorado law radically diverges from most western States) isn't even laughable. In proof of which, the prosecutor was never given the file.
Hat tip to reader Mike Finch....
House passes bill cutting back DC gun laws
Story here. As predicted, the mushy version went down in flames, and the stronger one passed 266-152. From here it goes to the Senate, with uncertain results.
Hat tip to reader Ambiguous Ambiguae...
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (2)
ATF has trouble with its own records
Story here. An audit found that over a three year period the agency simply lost 75 guns and hundreds of laptops. About half of the guns were stolen, and two of these were used in crime. The rest simply vanished or are at any rate missing from inventory.
The last such audit was in 2002, and listed recommendations to cure the problems. But the latest audit, covering the five years since then, found that the rate of firearms going MIA went up by a factor of three, and the rate of laptops vanishing increased even more.
Of course the agency still expects FFLs' records to be perfect....
Reading the report itself: 5 of the stolen guns were never entered in the NCIC; all but a few dozen of the 418 missing laptops had no record of what was on them, and if sensitive data was lost (the agency did not start encryption until 2007); of the laptops that were examined in the here and now, a third were not encrypted despite the year-old policy, etc.
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (9)
DC City Council amends laws as Congress debates its bill
Story here.
To think the Heller ruling is not yet three months old, and DC is trying to run faster than a Demo Congress can pursuit it....
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (2)
New disease spotted
Palinosis. It has a sudden onset; symptoms include dementia, frothing at the mouth, panic attacks, and rage.
Via Instapundit.
Permalink · Politics · Comments (3)
Memoir of "the other NRA"
An ad from 1933, featuring "the other NRA's eagle."
I read somewhere that for a time in DC the National Rifle Association and the National Recovery Administration were officed in the same building. Every day they'd sort out the mail to "NRA" that had gone to the wrong NRA and exchange.
Permalink · NRA · Comments (2)
Brady fundraising insight
The Chronicle of Philanthropy notes:
"Other charities that have changed their names have faced trouble.
Gifts to Handgun Control, the advocacy organization, dropped after it changed its name to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in 2001.
“Seven years later, we still use the old name on the outer envelope of our mailings because responses drop when we don’t,” said Mary Ester, the Brady Campaign’s director of development."
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (1)
NRA prez to compete in National Championships
Story here. John Sigler, NRA president, will shoot in that nationals, prone at 600-1,000 yards. He'll use a 6.5x.284 rifle.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (4)
More on DC legislation
Yup, back in town, dog tired.
The Washington Post reports that the DC City Council is considering a further retreat, to try to avoid Congressional legislation. It may repeal the ban on semiautos, and the requirement that firearms be disassembled or trigger locked.
Hat tip to reader Jim Kindred....
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (2)
Blogging a bit slow
Outa town for the weekend, so won't posting much. Saw Sebatian & Bitter last night...
Open carrier taken into custody outside Obama rally
Story here. The fellow was carrying openly (utterly legal in Pennsylvania), but does so outside an Obama rally. He doesn't try to enter the park where it was being held (which requires passing thru metal detectors), Someone sees the gun, and he winds up arrested, charged with disorderly conduct (essentially disturbing the peace) -- which I can't see. The county attorney describes it as a conflict between the first amendment right to peaceably assemble and the second amendment right to arms. Again, I don't see it. He could have exercised his second amendment rights, and they exercise their first amendment rights, without any conflict at all.
More on the fight over the Federal DC legislation
Politics can be confusing. Story here. Basically, the House committee is expected to report out a much watered-down version, but the rule for debate (fixed by Rules Committee, directly under Pelosi's thumb) allows a quick up or down vote between that and the stronger version (which, with nearly half the House cosponsoring, will likely win).
If that's accurate, Pelosi is giving the antigunners at most a chance of save face before being defeated. (Cue in Twilight Zone theme here).
Hat tip to reader Ambiguous Ambiguae...
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (4)
Not a product I'd care to own
Snowflakes in Hell has a posting (via Ry Jones) about a converter kit to turn a Ruger 10-22 rifle into a pistol.
I'm not utterly sure of the benefit (why not just buy a Ruger pistol?) but I'd agree that the legal risks are considerable. ATF's position is that the receiver is the gun, and a rifle receiver is thus a rifle, so one turned into a pistol becomes a short-barreled rifle. The Thompson Center case suggests this may not be right, but I wouldn't consider it 100% on point, and when a violation is a felony, I'd like more assurance than that.
UPDATE: Tom Gunn notes, in a comment the spam blocker didn't like:
"can someone explain how the ATF could consider this a SBR
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/zoom/zoompop.asp?i=146307_ts.JPG&h=&w=&bgc=&ui=&mc=&cf=&nv=&c=&adid=465886
And this is not?
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=4901&return=Y
That makes no sense what-so-ever but then . . ."
The images are of two virtually identical 10-22s. I suppose the answer would be that one left the factory configured as a rifle and the other as a pistol. It does illustrate the problems with maintaining that there are "rifle receivers" and "pistol receivers." In actually, there are "receivers," and what is attached to it -- barrel and stock -- should be the sole determinant of what it is at a given moment.
You can't make sense of most gun laws, and the NFA is probably the worst. Gangsters were misusing Thompsons and sawed off shotguns, yet they threw in rifles and "any other weapons." The last is a remnant of the original plan to require registration of handguns (with a small transfer tax), with "any other weapon" capable of concealment put in for good measure. Then Congress took the handguns out, leaving just "any other weapon." So you wind up having to register some strange palm pistol made a century ago for ammunition not made in nearly a century.
They actually had to change the rifle barrel length. Originally, the minimum was 18" for rifles and shotguns. Then after WWII the government realized it had sold as surplus a ton of M-1 carbines with barrels just a bit over 16". So it lowered the barrel requirement for rifles to 16"
Permalink · National Firearms Act · Comments (15)
ATFE authorizes electronic A&D books
Pdf of ruling here. If anyone ever doubts that licenses have serious recordkeeping duties, the ruling should answer that.
Even the electronic recordkeeping will likely require custom-written software (which won't be cheap). There are thirteen requirements to be met. (It's possible that pharmacies have related software to keep track of controlled substances, and that this might be modifiable).
UPDATE: A&D is a licensed dealer's acquisition and disposition book, separate from his 4473s, and in which the dealer logs in all firearms as they come in, and as they are sold.
Court considering rebriefing death penalty case
Discussion at the Volokh Conspiracy. It concerns Kennedy v. Louisiana, where the Court ruled that the death penalty for child rapists was cruel and unusual punishment, based in good part on finding a national consensus that it was too much. The majority noted that there was no federal law allowing such punishment, and only 6 of 30 States that have the death penalty allowed it, and mentioned that Congress, in establishing a federal death penalty, had not extended it to rapists of children.
The problem was that there was a federal (military code) provision for just that penalty, which neither side found or briefed. Ooops.
Permalink · General con law · Comments (4)
Election getting foul already
Facts: back in 2000, Alaska enacted a law barring police departments from charging victims for rape investigation kits. Sounds logical: if somebody shoots at me, I wouldn't expect to pay for the ballistics test. A reporter for a small town newspaper hunting for the "other side" interviews their police chief, who opposes the bill because the cost to the town is high, they like to bill the victim's medical insurance "when possible," and the offender ought to be made to pay the cost as restitution. OK, arguments, but you didn't convince me.
The significance of this: eight years later someone deduces that Sarah Palin (whom the reporter did not interview) was mayor of the town then and had hired that police chief. Title of posting: "Sarah Thinks Rape Victims Should be Charged for Their Own Rape Kits." Ending of it: "The more we learn about Sarah Palin, the more we learn about how corrupt she is."
(Click on the linked story or just click on it here to get the newspaper story).
UPDATE: did a quick google and found other postings such as "BREAKING: Palin Charged Rape Victims For Their Rape Kits??!!" "Sarah Palin Revictimized Rape Victims" etc.
Permalink · Politics · Comments (6)
House to vote today on DC bill
Story here. Sounds like the leadership IS rushing the bill along. A lot of blue dog Demos in tight races were demanding the vote, to show their gunny credentials.
Again, how far the nation has changed. I can't picture Pelosi allowing it, or having her comrades pushing hard for a vote on it, a few years ago, and ten years ago arguing that something like this would happen would have seemed delusional. I remember the fight for FOPA, 21 years ago. We had to work hard, and make a lot of amendments, just to get the Reagan Admin. aboard, the House stuck us with a full auto ban as a price, the Senate added on amendments that made no sense just to keep the media at bay, and the whole thing took six or seven years to accomplish.
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (4)
Firearm sales increasing
Chart here. Nearly 7.5 million NICS checks so far this year, and August showed a 4.3% increase over last year.
WashPo on bill affecting DC gun laws
Cam Edwards has a fine post dealing with a WashPo editorial that seems to have been based on reading the Brady Campaign's press release, rather than the bill in question.
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (1)
FrontSight offers free training to Chicago residents
Offer here.
The National Parks gun ban
Sensibly Progress has a take on the present rules.
Blog on Obama and the gun issue
Right here. Hat tip to Dan Gifford.
While we're at it, just found out that historian J. Norman Heath has a blog on 2A issues.
Freudian slip?
Obama may have made Freudian slip:
"If you’ve got a gun in your house, I’m not taking it,’’ Obama said. But the Illinois senator could still see skeptics in the crowd, particularly on the faces of several men at the back of the room.
So he tried again. “Even if I want to take them away, I don’t have the votes in Congress,’’ he said."
Hat tip to reader Jack Anderson....
Permalink · Politics · Comments (34)
Events in Maryland
Posting here. Description is a bit overwraught, but essentially, a collector buys ammo from an FFL who keeps ammo records (not required) and gives them to the State Police. They show up at his house past midnight, because he bought ammo for guns for which there was no dealer record of their purchase. He explains he has a curio and relic license, and thus could acquire them without going thru a dealer.
Now, this is a bit embarrassing...
Tho there was probably no other wise course of action:
Police hear a woman crying for help from inside a house, knocks at the door yield only more cries for help, they break in to rescue her ....
And find a cockatoo , giving the cries in its owner's voice. A while back it got her in trouble with Child Protective Services, while I was practicing an infant's cries while she was away.
UPDATE: there is a fun type of embarrassment. (Just as friend asked if the stuff at Blackwater wasn't a bit crazy, I replied "yes, but the fun type of crazy..") I'm sure the officers involved will be sitting in an FOP hall ten years from now and be bringing their listeners to their knees with "we found nobody inside, and were wondering where she went when the parrot, I swear the ____ing parrot, yells out 'Help me!'" And they'll be carrying copies of their reports to answer guys who say this has got to be BS.
Todd Jarrett shoots 1000 rounds in 10 minutes
YouTube here. By the end the gun is so hot that the trigger is burning his finger. That the gun keeps going is a tribute to the 1911 design, and to Para USA's execution of it.
Hat tip to reader David McCleary....
Permalink · shooting · Comments (7)
The Todd Jarrett grip
Captain of a Crew of One has an excellent visual depiction of the hold that Todd Jarrett teaches at Blackwater. It's not Weaver, more Isoceles, and involves a more extensive weak hand grip over the strong hand. Considering that he's the world's practical pistol champion, there is much to be said for it.
He taught it effectively, by forming our hands into the grip and then marking X on them, so that each hand had half the X. Then he'd show how you were unconsciously going back to Weaver, or letting the grip slip when firing a string.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (5)
What doesn't work in Chicago won't work in Cheyenne
Chicago's handgun ban seems functioning as expected: 125 homicides over the summer, more than the KIAs in Iraq. Glenn Reynolds suggests that with escalating violence and a corrupt regime, maybe we should just pull out of Chicago.
One of the latest: four gang members charged in murder of 10 year old girl.
"Officials say a gang on Exchange Avenue typically fights with another on Escanaba. There's an alley in between.
"The gangs often shoot at each other through gangways stemming from that alley," Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy said. "
The response: a group called CeaseFire held a prayer vigil and "urged lawmakers to increase funding for CeaseFire..."
Not recommended to the prudent
Even if a perp has a shotgun, he shouldn't get between a mother and her kids. Fortunately, the perp couldn't comprehend that the safety was on, which enabled the mother to grab the barrel, and the father to get it away from him and blast him.
Hat tip to Bernie Oliver...
Permalink · Self defense · Comments (7)
Sandy Froman interviewed
Video here. Topic is the Palin nomination.
Another Bloomberg Mayor becomes a prohibited person
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleads to two felonies. He'll resign, turn over his pension to the city as restitution, serve 120 days.
The charges are based on perjury during a civil police whistleblower trial, and in denying that he tried to fire a police official who was investigating corruption committed by his inner circle.
He still faces felony assault charges relating to another incident.
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (7)
Upcoming law review articles on Heller
Nelson Lund, Heller and Second Amendment Precedent argues that Heller erred in trying to reconcile its result with US v. Miller, when it should simply have recognized that Miller was wrongly decided.
Nelson Lund, Anticipating the Second Amendment Incorporation: The Role of the Inferior Courts argues that the 2nd Amendment should be incorporated into the 14th, and applied to the States, and that lower courts should not rely upon anti-incorporation case law and upon "it's up to the Supremes to change things."
Larry Chapman, Second Amendment Plumbing After Heller on the other hand, argues against 14th Amendment incorporation.
The 2A is becoming the one interesting field of con law. The First Amendment has been mined for, what, forty years or so. Debates over what is obscenity, what are fighting words, and whatnot are really getting to be a bit boring. But the 2A can keep scholars busy for another few decades. And the courts, as well.
UPDATE: Yep, in the 21st century we distinguish between "rights" and "privileges." But when the drafters of the 14th Amendment used the terms in 1868, they used "privileges and immunities" interchangeably with "rights." Sen. Jacob Howard, who introduced it in the Senate, gave a speech in which he listed the privileges and immunities of US citizens -- a list so long that the first eight amendments came at the end. (Remember the Constitution itself had some rights or protections, limits on suspending habeas corpus, enacting bills of attainder, etc.)
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (11)
I regret to report
I regret to report that this is not a genuine image of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. My heart was broken by this debunking. Hat tip to Dan Gifford (sigh)...
Permalink · Politics · Comments (11)
Author arrested in MA
Story in the DC Examiner. Apparently police responded to the tripping of his burglar alarm, wound up searching his house, and now the 67 year old author faces up to ten years in the slammer because (1) his permit had expired and (2) he had an AR-15 and several magazines.
Permalink · arms law victims · Comments (12)
85 year old burglary victim takes novel approach
She solves the problem of how do you hold the perp at gunpoint while calling police -- by forcing the perp to call them for her.
Permalink · Self defense · Comments (1)
Another interesting thought on Palin
Right here.
Interesting thought
In light of "identity politics," folks have been seeing Sarah Palin's nomination as intended to peel off women voters. But might nominating an attractive woman who loves to hunt and shoot be aimed at a different demographic?