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April 2012
Article bemoans the victimhood of armed home invaders
In it, we're told that "Kevin Fernandes is remembered as a loving daddy to his young daughter. Josh Henderson was said to be a good man to his family" and "Fernandes played football, basketball and ran track at Bethel High. In his News Tribune obituary, his family said "He lived life with passion and truly loved his family and friends." In a guest book note, his mother wrote: "I will keep your loving spirit alive and teach your baby girl all about her amazing daddy.""
The minor problem being that they broke into an ex-cop's house and, he says, advanced on him with a crowbar, and he shot in self-defense.
"Apparently there is bad gun violence and good gun violence." Yes.
"But of late, the law of defense has become more a law of offense, with homeowners - at least anecdotally - increasingly taking the lethal option." Hmmm... it leads off with two cases.
In one, a fellow who was likely psychotic attacked a homeowner, who warned him thru the locked door that he was armed, whereupon the fellow kicked in the door and came after him.
In the other a junkie broke through a kitchen window and was seen entering, hammer in hand.
It's hard to see that either homeowner was taking the offensive here....
Permalink · media · Comments (5)
This might work
Rebranding BATFE.
"'Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' isn't just a name -- it's a lifestyle," said ATF Director Roger Smythe. "If you enjoy these three things -- either individually or, if you're like me, all at once -- then this is the government agency for you."
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (4)
"Fast and Furious" figure to head law school
Assistant AG Ronald Welch, who signed the letter to Sen. Grassley assuring him ATF had never allowed guns to go to Mexico, is resigning to become dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law.
The funny part is, I can see how he wound up signing the letter. Does an Assistant AG know if the Phoenix office of an agency is running guns to the cartels? Naw. The practice at Justice was to keep Ass't AGs (political appointees) on the road giving inspiring speeches, while their Deputies (careerists) ran the show. And even when in town, he'd have no idea what was going on in the field, 2000 miles away. So if a Senator asked what was going on, the letter would be be sent to the Phoenix office, they would draft a reply, people up the chain of command (none of whom knew what was going on in Phoenix) would approve it, and finally the Ass't AG, when he was next in town, would sign it.
Upcoming documentary
"Blood on Their Hands" -- devoted to the life of a fellow named Eric Holder, and his role in coverups at Waco, Fast and Furious, and some other events. Produced by Mike McNulty, who produced the Oscar nominated "Waco: The Rules of Engagement." I'm helping on this one. His Kickstarter fundraising page is here.
Cato Institute Forum on no retreat laws
Video here. Clayton Cramer and Massad Ayoob breakfast upon a prosecutor.
Permalink · Self defense · Comments (5)
Remington answers NBC
NBC ran a special claiming Remington rifles were unsafe, and Remington gives an online reply. I assume there was at least one lawsuit involved, as they were able to post video from depositions of the NBC expert witness ... who admitted he took the shootee's word for the claim the safety was on, and that he'd never examined the rifle at issue... which in fact had the safety rusted into the "fire" position.
Firearms collection auctions
April 30, online and live, hosted by Heritage Auctions, and with proceeds of several auctions going to NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund or NRA Foundation. Details of the event are here. Some collectibles, some shooters, some quite interesting (like the scoped Schmidt-Rubin, or the many trapdoor Springfields).
Permalink · shooting · Comments (1)
19 years later
19 years ago today came the fire that ended the Waco standoff and that killed nearly a hundred Davidians. I have webpage on my FOIA lawsuits and the discoveries that resulted. It's old, so some of the links don't work.
HR 4089 passes the House
HR 4089, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act, passed the House yesterday. Text is here; a breakdown of the 274-146 vote is here. In a nutshell, the bill would raise the legal status of hunting and recreational shooting in terms of Federal land use agencies. It also adjusts the National Environmental Protection Act to reduce the amount of analysis (and thus vulnerability to lawsuits) necessary for pro-hunting regulatory measures.
Which in turn explains why HSUS calls it "a highly controversial bill that combines several radical hunting proposals into one package."
If "man bites dog is a news story..."
Then how about president eats dog?
Cato forum on "stand your ground" laws
The Cato Institute, in Washington DC, will next Monday host debate on "stand your ground" laws. Speakers include Clayton Cramer and Massad Ayoob. Admission is free, and it sounds likely to be a lively event.
Permalink · Self defense · Comments (1)
Virginia Tech victim's parents lay out the case for campus carry
"Speaking for myself, I would give anything if someone on campus; a professor, one of the trained military or guardsman taking classes or another student could have saved my daughter by shooting Cho before he killed our loved ones. Because professors, staff and students are precluded from protecting themselves on campus, Cho, a student at Virginia Tech himself, was able to simply walk on campus and go on a killing rampage with no worry that anyone would stop him.
I ask a simple question: Would the other parents of victims be forever thankful if a professor or student was allowed to carry a firearm and could have stopped Seung-Hui Cho before their loved one was injured or killed? I would be. I also suspect that the tragedy may not have occurred at all if Cho knew that either faculty members or students were permitted to carry their own weapons on campus. Cho took his own life before campus police were able to reach him and put a stop to his killing spree."
Wash Times writer makes a convert
In the form of DC Council Chair Kwame R. Brown, not so long ago an anti-gunner.
Off at the NRA convention
It's said 70,000 people are expected to attend. In the meantime, the Washington Post asks, "Is Gun Control Dead?", and Bloomberg News editorializes,"You won, so tone it down, OK?".
Appleseed Project
Webpage here. It's dedicated to teaching the young about marksmanship and Revolution War history.
Justice Scalia's new hunting buddy
It's Justice Kagan:
"She said the two are planning to go hunting in Montana in October. In his chambers, Scalia has a large animal head he calls Leroy, Kagan said. “He insists I’m going to shoot myself an antelope,” Kagan said. “Justice Scalia insists I need my own Leroy.”"
Permalink · Supreme Court caselaw · Comments (7)
Lights out for Canada's long gun registry
The measure ending it passed their Senate 2-1 and received royal assent.
Permalink · non-US · Comments (0)
"cut shells"
I remember reading about this when I was young. Though at the time when it was popular, they had cardboard shells, and so the shooter had to be careful to *almost* cut thru them.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (2)
Guilty pleas in Fast and Furious
Three defendants plead out. Jaime Avila Jr."faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to dealing guns without a federal license and conspiracy to deal guns without a license, making false statements in a gun purchase and smuggling goods out of the U.S."
So much for the US Attorney's instructions to ATF during the operation that there was no probable cause to arrest since each gun purchase must be assessed on its own, without regard to others, so twenty gun buys followed by the twenty guns being found in Mexico proves nothing -- analyzed individually, one purchase followed by the gun being found in Mexico wouldn't give probably cause, since it might have been stolen, and twenty repetitions of this would prove no more.
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (1)
Vanderboegh recovering, may be out of hospital soon
He reports the problem is a post-op abscess. David Codrea suggests donations to help with his family's expenses. As he says, "if you get value from Mike's work [meaning Fast and Furious, and other issues], returning that value in the form of a voluntary subscription, say, a buck a month, is the appropriate and moral way to go."
No more Coke
I prefer the taste of Pepsi, anyway.
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (5)
Ill ruling: are "assault weapons" firearms in "common use"
In Wilson v. State, at 15-19 (I have the link open in one window, but it doesn't work in another), the Illinois Supreme Court remands to the lower court to determine that and a number of other questions. It notes that Cook County's AW ban is not like a handgun ban, in that handguns are the quintessential self-protection weapon, nor can it say from the record whether they are or are not "“dangerous and unusual weapons” that are “not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.”" So it remands for a hearing on these issues. It's very interesting that the court repeatedly notes there is no uniform definition of "assault weapon," so that statements about "assault weapons" in general are mostly meaningless, and that the court discusses whether the "dangerous or unusual weapon" concept was meant to be broad or narrow ("no flamethrowers allowed").
All this indicates the court is taking the right to arms issue quite seriously; if otherwise, it could just have brushed everything off with "this only bans assault weapons, which we all know must be terrible things, or they wouldn't have a name like that."
Hat tip to Gene Hoffman of CalGuns.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (6)
Back
Released from the hospital yesterday afternoon, still rather weak. Last night I got a sound sleep, but the night before got only an hour or so. The usual hospital noises, awakenings for blood draws and vital checks, plus a special disturbance.... patients in the next room over who listened to the TV or talked loudly until 2 AM, and thereafter faked moans of pain and begged for help. They stopped the moans of pain after another patient mocked them by groaning in chorus. I don't know if they were drunk, had mental problems, or were just jackasses.
Doc said he was initially concerned that I was going septic, but that had been avoided.
All I have left is exhaustion, some aches from sleeping on that bed, and some bruising where the IV went in and more where I got all the blood sticks in the other arm. I even got four injections to the belly; I'd only heard of those for rabies (and that might be history, or a legend).
Sheriff Mack running for Congress
Sheriff Mack is running for Congress against Lamar Smith. Mack is a friend, and I represented him in the challenge to part of the Brady Act, which went to the Supreme Court. He once remarked that he'd never owned an SKS, and never planned to, but as soon as the government proposed to ban them, he felt compelled to buy one. His campaign also focuses on his opposition to SOPA and other copyright extensions.
I feel so safe....
"ICE arrests 3,100 convicted criminal aliens in sweep".
Until you read that only 204 of them will actually re recommended for a prosecution. Others will be subject to removal proceedings, which is a broader concept than actual deportation and includes agreeing to voluntarily being removed. The article lists two individuals who will be subject to removal proceedings -- one was convicted of murder and became a fugitive from justice, the other was convicted of manslaughter, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon.
Nice act, little substance.
Little blogging for next few days
I was admitted to the hospital yesterday... I thought it was a kidney stone, but it turned out to be an infected kidney. On IV antibiotics now.
Permalink · Personal · Comments (21)
NBC doing internal investigation regarding alteration of Zimmerman audio
Story here. In running a story on the Florida shooting, NBC's Today Show altered a 911 call to make it fit the narrative, turning
"Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.
Dispatcher: OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black."
Into:
"Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black."