There Oughta Be A Law

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The realists among us realize that no new law and no new prohibition will ever stop the evil, the criminal, and/or the deranged from perpetrating evil, criminal, or deranged acts. Laws only impact the law-abiding among us. Moreover, if you enact enough laws and criminalize enough things, we all become law breakers. Harvey Silverglate covered this in his book Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent. Likewise, the Instapundit, Prof. Glenn Reynolds, wrote a paper on this called Ham Sandwich Nation which plays off the remark by Judge Sol Wachter that a grand jury could be convinced to indict a ham sandwich.

Examining this in the context of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, we have seen innumerable calls for new gun control laws along with calls for destruction and confiscation of certain firearms. I wrote yesterday about the introduction of a bill by Sen. Richard “I served in Vietnam (not!) Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) that would close the so-called ammo loophole. None of these proposed laws will or would have stopped a determined person intent on harming school children or anyone else. One need merely look to the recent spate of bombings in Austin wherein an individual using readily available ingredients and information gleaned from the Internet killed and maimed a number of people. Homemade explosive devices are already illegal as is murder.

Science fiction novelist and commentator Sarah Hoyt penned a very interesting piece on PJ Media yesterday entitled Of Laws And Men. She examined this whole notion that a new law will actually change behavior. It is part of the whole fanatical belief in a society organized by the numbers from the top-down. She points out that this is the way that society was organized in Communist countries but yet you still had black markets as people needed to survive.

Looking at all the new laws being proposed post-Parkland, she concluded:

They’re by and large decent people – the followers, not the leaders – who really want everyone to live in harmony, and since they wouldn’t dream of breaking laws, then it must be a matter of finding the right law to fix everything.

Only the world is not full of people who are terrified of breaking laws, and all their piling on of laws against gun owners does is leave the law-abiding defenseless before the lawless.

To have these people learn the error of their ways in a practical fashion will only destroy the world for the rest of us. And besides, judging from Europe, they’ll never learn. They’ll just refuse to admit their plan failed and pile on more laws and more regulatory bodies, till someone’s whole job is regulating the curvature of a banana. (You only wish that were euphemistic.)

So we need to educate them. We need to educate them better when they’re younger. We need to teach them history and psychology. Not the stuff edited by their own luminaries, who are as blinkered as they are, but real history and real psychology. And we need to teach them how humans are now and have always been lawless animals. We can’t be tamed, we can’t be domesticated, and even in the most oppressive regimes devised there will never be enough to make everyone obey. There are dissidents even in places where dissidence costs you your life. There are black markets where the regimes punish them and spend most of their time suppressing them. Because when the alternative is death, humans are really good at breaking the law.

So all laws passed, everywhere affect only the law-abiding. And even the law-abiding stop being so when life is at stake.

The answer to “Your gun is now illegal” is always, in practicality “Says you and whose army?” and “Come and get it!”

She’s right. We need to educate them. I suggest it would be five minutes of your time well spent to read her entire essay.

SAAMI Approves .224 Valkyrie Specs

Vista Outdoor announced yesterday that their Federal Premium developed .224 Valkyrie cartridge specifications had been approved by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute aka SAAMI. Standardization of both the cartridge and chamber specifications certainly will help push greater adoption of this new cartridge.

From Vista Outdoor’s release:

Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute Publishes Approved 224 Valkyrie Cartridge Specifications
ANOKA, Minnesota – March 27, 2018 –
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) voted
to approve the Federal Premium
224 Valkyrie as an official new cartridge during their committee
meeting at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada this past January.
224 Valkyrie’s SAAMI standards documents are now published and available
to the industry as a whole, as well as to the public.
“It’s
thrilling to have brought the world’s best MSR 15 cartridge to market.
We’re proud and excited about our new cartridge, and we deeply
appreciate SAAMI’s support with this launch,” said
Federal Premium Ammunition President Jason Vanderbrink. “SAAMI’s
approval of the cartridge was a crucial step in
legitimizing it within the industry. Their work creates standards
for the cartridge, increasing safety, interchangeability, reliability
and quality for the dozens of firearm manufacturers currently building
rifles in our 224 Valkyrie.”
SAAMI
allows free access to technical data and drawings for the cartridge and
chamber designs, which are posted in the Information and Specifications
section of the organization’s website. All
cartridge and chamber drawing documents are contained within the
ANSI/SAAMI Standards and can be found on
www.saami.org. The New SAAMI Cartridge Cartridge/Chamber Designs and Revisions for 224 Valkyrie can be viewed here:
http://www.saami.org/PDF/224-Valkyrie-Introduction.pdf.
SAAMI
was founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government and tasked
with creating and publishing industry standards for safety,
interchangeability, reliability and quality, as well
as coordinating technical data. SAAMI’s Technical Committee, which
consists of firearm and ammunition industry experts, reviewed the 224
Valkyrie submission over a period of about six months. The official
cartridge name, maximum cartridge and minimum chamber
dimensions, pressure limits, test equipment, and other characteristics
are all considered and scrutinized during the process. 
Federal
Premium’s 224 Valkyrie is based on a 6.8 SPC case necked down to 22
caliber. It offers dramatically improved trajectories over all other MSR
15 cartridges, including the 22 Nosler, 223
Rem. and 6.5 Grendel—with roughly half the recoil of larger cartridges
offering comparable ballistics, such as the 6.5 Creedmoor. Shooters can
expect best-in-class ballistics, supersonic flight past 1,300 yards and
extreme long-range accuracy from this exciting
new cartridge.
The
224 Valkyrie is initially available in four loads: 90-grain Gold Medal
Sierra MatchKing, 60-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint, 90-grain Fusion
MSR and 75-grain American Eagle TMJ. These
proven Federal Premium offerings provide options for long-range
competitors, target shooters and hunters pursuing game from varmints up
to deer-sized animals.

Loophole Here, Loophole There, Everything’s A Freaking Loophole

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When dealing with the enemies of freedom everything they don’t approve of is a loophole.

Internet loophole? Check.

Gun show loophole? Check.

Background check loophole? Check.

Sen. Richard “I served in Vietnam (not!)” Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) have come up with a new loophole that MUST be closed. That is the ammunition sale loophole. To that end, they have introduced the Ammunition Background Check Act (S.2627 / HR 5383) The bill would require instant background checks for the purchase of ammunition.

Excerpts from their joint press release:

“Ammunition sales should be subject to the same legal requirements as firearm sales, and that includes instant background checks. The same laws that prevent dangerous individuals from purchasing firearms also prohibit them from amassing arsenals of ammunition, with one major loophole: there are no background checks for ammunition sales to enforce the law. Closing this ludicrous loophole is a common sense component of a comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence,” said Blumenthal.


“This common-sense legislation simply enforces existing federal law, and will make it harder for criminals to amass hundreds of rounds of ammunition without so much as sharing their first name with a gun store clerk,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Closing this absurd loophole will not by itself stop the next mass shooting tragedy. But this popular approach must be part of our larger strategy for ending gun violence. Studies show it can help keep ‘bad guys with guns’ from perpetrating another mass slaughter like the one we witnessed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in my Broward County community, or the thousands of other acts of gun violence that devastate communities across the country. It takes more than just a gun to take an innocent life. It also takes bullets. We need to do all we can to make sure neither of them ends up in the wrong hands.”

There are enough gun control buzzwords in those two paragraphs that you would be an automatic winner in buzzword bingo!

While the bill text is not yet available, their release indicates that the purchase of ammo would be through a FFL who would be required to do a NICS check or, if the seller was not licensed, then the seller would have to have a FFL conduct the NICS check. Since I don’t have the bill text yet, there is no word whether or not components would be require background checks.

If components are not regulated (and they should not be), then the enemies of freedom will have multiple new loopholes to rail about: the smokeless powder loophole, the brass loophole, the primer loophole, etc., etc.

For those not old enough to remember, after the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968 all ammunition sales including .22 rimfire ammo were required to be logged into a bound book. The requirement for .22 rimfire ammo sale logging was repealed in 1982. Finally, the Firearms Owner Protection Act of 1986 finally repealed the requirement that ammo sales be logged in a bound book. The repeal of that requirement was supported by the ATF as they said it had little law enforcement value. While Bluementhal and Wasserman-Schultz quote a number of academics in support of their bill, they don’t quote anyone in law enforcement which is telling.

This is a ridiculous bill brought by two ridiculous legislators. It should be relegated to the scrapheap of history just like they should.

H/T  The Captain’s Journal

Lyman Issues Voluntary Recall On Black Powder Rifles And Pistols

This safety notice arrived in my mailbox this morning and I thought it wise to pass it on. It concerns the potential for separation of the breech plug on Lyman black powder firearms.

From Lyman:

Lyman® Products Voluntarily Issues Recall on Black Powder Rifles and Pistols
The discovery of a potential for separation in the breech plug has spurred the recall program.

Middletown, Conn. (March 2018) – Lyman® Products
has voluntarily announced a product safety warning and recall notice on
their black powder rifles and pistols due to the potential of
separation in the breech plug. Lyman maintains a safety-first approach,
so despite finding only a few firearms affected and no reported
injuries, Lyman is offering a recall program to have the issue corrected. Lyman regrets the inconvenience but remains committed to the safety of their customers.
The
recall includes black powder rifles and pistols regardless of caliber
including the following brands manufactured between March 1, 2017 to
Dec. 22, 2017. Barrels with the serial number in the range of A595960 –
A599025 are subject to this recall:
  • Deerstalker
  • Great Plains
  • Great Plains Hunter
  • Trade Rifle
  • Plains Pistol
  • Black Powder Kits and replacement barrels
This
recall excludes Percussion Left-Hand Great Plains and Left-Hand Great
Plains Hunter models. If a customer finds his/her product falls within
the recall range, a customer service representative is standing by
Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4:15 pm EST at 800-225-9626. Upon
receipt of the serial number, and either the part number or model, Lyman
will provide further instructions and packaging to ship the product to
Lyman for replacement at NO COST to the customer. Lyman will provide a
replacement barrel and tang with instructions or will replace the barrel
and tang at Lyman and return the firearm. Please follow all Lyman
recall instructions to ensure timely processing and return.
Visit Lyman at https://www.lymanproducts.com/recall/ for more information on the Black Powder Rifles and Pistols Recall program.

Remington Files Bankruptcy On Sunday

Remington Outdoor Company filed its long awaited bankruptcy petition with the US Bankruptcy Court for Delaware on Sunday. The agreement to do the pre-packaged Chapter 11 filing was reached with creditors in February. In the time following that agreement, Remington entered into a number of “material definitive agreements” with the various creditors.

According to Reuters, Cerberus will lose all their ownership rights in the bankruptcy. The equity in the company will now go to the creditors.

The creditors inked the debt-cutting deal prior to the Parkland shooting, and it is unclear if any have exited. The restructuring support agreement allows creditors to sell their holdings, but the buyer is bound by the deal.

One investor told IFR, a Thomson Reuters news provider, that his firm had contemplated buying the Remington loans that will be exchanged into equity, which were offered at as low as 25 cents on the dollar.

“We bowed out because we were uncomfortable,” he said.

After a Remington Bushmaster rifle was used in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Connecticut in 2012 that killed 20 children and six adults, Cerberus tried unsuccessfully to sell Remington, then known as Freedom Group.

Katie-Mesner Hage, an attorney representing Sandy Hook families in a lawsuit against Remington, said in a prepared statement that she did not expect the gunmaker’s bankruptcy would affect their case.

The lawsuit referred to in the last paragraph is now before the Connecticut Supreme Court on appeal. The case was dismissed in state superior court as the judge decided that Bushmaster was protected by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act as it was not a case of negligent entrustment which is an exception to the PLCAA.

Here is the bankrupt petition listing creditors and the CFO’s statement. Reuters notes that the court action is expected to go quickly and the restructured company could be out of bankruptcy by May.

Ian Of Forgotten Weapons Responds To The New YouTube Policy

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons posted a video on Full30 this afternoon. In it, he discusses the implications of the new YouTube policy regarding firearms and firearms-related videos. As he notes, YouTube is somewhat of a black hole and no clarification is forthcoming.

He addresses the publicity that he’s gotten for his InRange TV videos going up on PornHub. Ian has no intention of putting Forgotten Weapons videos up on PornHub but hinted he has other plans in the works. The PornHub gambit was to bring attention to YouTube’s change in policy and hopefully force them to reconsider it.

#OneMore

Those guys in South Carolina really know how to stick it in the face of the gun prohibitionists. Palmetto State Armory is selling AR lowers with the logo #ONEMORE engraved on it. They are even on sale this weekend.

If I needed another AR lower, I’d certainly consider it. As it is, I have too many builds planned with the parts bought and not enough time.

There Is Neutral And Then There Is Delta Neutral

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Back in February, Delta Airlines discontinued the airfare discount for NRA members. They did this in the face of a campaign by gun control groups to get corporations to end any and all discounts for NRA members.
Here is what they said at the time on their website in the way of explanation:

Delta’s decision reflects the airline’s neutral status in the current national debate over gun control amid recent school shootings. Out of respect for our customers and employees on both sides, Delta has taken this action to refrain from entering this debate and focus on its business. Delta continues to support the 2nd Amendment.


This is not the first time Delta has withdrawn support over a politically and emotionally charged issue. Last year, Delta withdrew its sponsorship of a theater that staged a graphic interpretation of “Julius Caesar” depicting the assassination of President Trump. Delta supports all of its customers but will not support organizations on any side of any highly charged political issue that divides our nation.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian went a bit further the next week in a memo to Delta employees as reported by the Washington Post.

Caught in a maelstrom over his company’s decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association, Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian said Friday that his intention had been to “remain neutral” and “remove Delta from this [gun control] debate.” Delta, he said, is now planning to end discounts “for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

He went on to say:

“Our people and our customers have a wide range of views on how to increase safety in our schools and public places, and we are not taking sides,” he wrote. “Our objective in removing any implied affiliation with the NRA was to remove Delta from this debate.

The key words you keep hearing from Delta are “neutral status”, “not taking sides”, and “refrain from entering this debate”. That was what Ed Bastian and Delta were saying at the beginning of the month.

So what did they do in light of today’s gun control march?

Delta Air Lines has donated three round-trip charter flights that allowed hundreds of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students to participate in the “March for Our Lives” protest against gun violence in Washington.

Delta said the donation is “part of our commitment to supporting the communities we serve.”

 Ed Bastian and Delta Air Lines must be suffering a bout of cognitive dissonance if they think ending a discount for NRA members and then giving three round-trip charter flights to students advocating gun control is neutrality. These actions are about the furthest thing from neutrality that I could imagine.

My last flight with Delta will be in May to attend the NRA Annual Meeting. That ticket was paid for before the change in Delta policy and it is non-refundable. Over the last 20 or so years, 90% or more of my air travel has been on Delta. No more.

Jim Scoutten’s Editorial On Social Media

Jim Scoutten is the host and producer of Shooting USA. He’s been doing this for 25 years and his shows have been on everything from ESPN to the Outdoor Channel. Each time he has moved it has been because of pressure from anti-gun executives.

The major broadcast and cable channels have prohibited any form of firearm advertising for years. 25 years ago we struggled with ESPN in the first year of our gun show series when Colt was a sponsor, but couldn’t advertise their guns. Since then we’ve moved three times to new networks as each was taken over by anti-gun New York City-based owners. We’re pleased to make our television home now on the pro-second amendment Outdoor Channel.

 He has a very interesting editorial up at the Outdoor Wire and the Shooting Wire today which is where the above quote comes from. It is entitled “The Incredible Shrinking World of Social Media”. In it, he describes how the algorithms of YouTube and Facebook limit who sees videos. Moreover, age restrictions are often put on conservative videos to prevent them from influencing young minds. Another factor Jim describes is how poor internet service in rural areas limits the access of those who would be most interested in watching streaming video.

I would urge you to read the whole thing.

Quote Of The Day

The quote of the day comes from Miguel Gonzalez of Gun Free Zone blog fame. It was in response to a post on Facebook noting that Kroger grocery stores were removing gun magazines that have “assault weapons” (sic) in the stories.

Miguel’s comment from Facebook is brutal but spot on:

Standard version:
Good German businessmen who pride themselves in the righteousness of the Reich, should not have these unclean Zionist publications for sale in their places of business. Removal is a must alongside anything else related to it.


Palatable version:
Good American businessmen who pride themselves in the righteousness of “Do It For The Children”, should not have these unclean gun publications for sale in their places of business. Removal is a must alongside anything else related to it.