Government regulation makes us safer. That is, until it doesn’t. This tweet by Donny Ferguson shows this quite succinctly.
Me: Why do we need all these FDA regulations?
— Donny Ferguson đ˝ (@DonnyFerguson) March 19, 2020
Government: To save lives.
Me: So why are they being waived?
Government: Because lives are at stake.
When the governor of North Carolina ordered the closing of all restaurants and bars to in-service patrons on St. Patrick’s Day, my thoughts went to the servers and the bartenders. This is not because I’m a regular patron. Rather it is because the Complementary Spouse’s first cousin just started a new job as a bartender.
Toby is very good at what he does and is very service oriented. As a result, he makes good tips whether as a server or a bartender. Immediately becoming eligible for unemployment will only replace a fraction of his income.
The NC Executive Order only tells the Alcoholic Beverage Commission to study the situation and get back to the governor in writing on regulations that they might be able to waive or show some flexibility.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) goes further than Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) and actually orders some things that will help bars and bartenders.
From Gov. Abbott’s press release:
Governor Greg Abbott today issued a waiver that will allow restaurants to deliver alcoholic beverages with food purchases to patrons, including beer, wine, and mixed drinks. The Governor also directed the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to waive certain provisions to allow manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of alcoholic beverages to repurchase or sell back unopened product.Â
These waivers are in response to the financial hardship caused by COVID-19 that has disproportionately affected the hospitality industry.Â
“The State of Texas is committed to supporting retailers, restaurants, and their employees,” said Governor Abbott. “These waivers will allow restaurants to provide enhanced delivery options to consumers during this temporary period of social distancing.”
Under this waiver, effective immediately, restaurants with a mixed beverage permit may sell beer, wine, or mixed drinks for delivery as long as they are accompanied by food purchased from the restaurant.Â
The buy-back waiver allows alcohol distributors and manufacturers to repurchase excess inventory from restaurants, bars, and clubs affected by event cancellations due to COVID-19.
So bartenders can still make drinks for delivery and establishments can sell back their excess inventory. This keeps more people employed and allows the reallocation of inventory. I like it.
North Carolina should follow the example of Texas. However, given my home state’s antediluvian approach to anything dealing with alcoholic beverages, I’m not holding my breath.
Government is laying down the heavy hand when it comes to enforced social distancing. The effort is to flatten the curve when it comes to new cases of coronavirus or COVID-19.
Schools are closed in at least 70% of the school districts across the country. Efforts will be made to go to online learning or to deliver packets of materials to those without computers. I know my younger daughter’s district is doing just that. She and her fellow teachers will be going out on school buses to deliver materials today.
In many states you can’t eat in a restaurant or drink in a bar. Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) ordered all North Carolina restaurants and bars closed under the state of emergency as of 5pm yesterday. If a restaurant decides to remain open, it will be for take out only. Unless you live in a place like Louisiana, cocktails to go are not a thing.
Most, if not all, movie theaters are closed.
In NYC, gyms are closed unless your last name is De Blasio.
Getting together with friends for a cookout? Not in Stokes County, NC if it involves more than 10 people.
In Pennsylvania you can’t even go to the liquor store and buy booze to drown your sorrows thanks to Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA). How in the hell can you even make a Quarantini unless you had stocked up earlier?
So what can you do?
One suggestion if you don’t already subscribe is Amazon Prime. There are a number of movies available for both adults and children that you can view on your computer, iPad, other mobile device, or on a Smart TV. While not everything is included, the Amazon Originals are included along with a number of other movies, cartoons, etc.
<Amazon allows you to try out Prime for free for 30 days. That should give you the chance to watch as much stuff as you want for the next 30 days. With some bit of luck, much of the enforced social distancing will relaxed by then. In full disclosure, Amazon pays me a “bounty” if you subscribe for the free trial.
One Amazon Original that I can highly recommend is Zero Zero Zero. It follows a shipment of cocaine from the time the Mafia in Italy decides to buy it through its shipment from Mexico to Italy. You have an intra-family drama in Italy between the old Don Minu and his grandson Stefano who wants to seize power and enact vengeance on the grandfather. You have a corrupt team of Mexican Army special forces led by a evangelical Protestant sergeant moving in on the Leyra cartel. Finally, you have an American family, the Lynwoods, acting as the intermediaries brokering the deal with their own internal drama.
Tell me honestly that the first time you heard COVID-19 referred to as Kung Flu that this song didn’t start playing in your head.
Adapting the chorus line for today you get:
Everybody was Kung Flu fighting
Those viruses were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightening
But they fought with expert timing
From what I can tell, Weird Al Yankovich never parodied that song. So what is he waiting for?!
My spam blocker requires me to approve all comments. While tedious, it protects you the reader from offers for fake Viagra, other drugs, marriage brokers from 3rd world or ex-Communist countries, and psychics among others.
However, now and then I get a spam comment that makes me laugh.
Herewith is the spam comment from a “Therese Bisdee”:
Hello there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?
Thereâs a lot of folks that I think would really enjoy your content.Please let me know. Thanks
Myspace? Really?
While Myspace actually still exists, this is not 2005 when it was in its heyday. A quick scan seems to indicate it is mostly music and video content.
In the meantime, in honor of Wuhan coronavirus…
The comment of the day comes from a blog post by Massad Ayoob.
It comes from his post entitled Pandemic or Dem Panic in which Mas describes what he heard on talk radio during a 20 hour road trip to give a class in Mississippi.
On a recent teaching run in Mississippi I spent close to 20 hours driving along the Gulf Coast, and radio news had damn near nothing to discuss but the Kung Flu and the two rich old white guys the Party of Diversity had narrowed it down to.Â
On the pandemic front, some commentators were making it sound like we were on the cusp of a dystopian âWalking Deadâ scenario, though so far the only zombie thatâs come back from the dead is Joe Bidenâs viability as the Democratsâ nominee. On February 11, I wrote in another gun-related forum, âLooks as if the operative syllable in âBidenâ may be âBye.ââ Wow. That changed quickly.Â
Joe Biden as a zombie.
His recent behavior on the campaign trail is now starting to make sense.
Of course, if you don’t believe in zombies, there is always the strong possibility that Biden is showing signs of age-related dementia.
Now it seems that in addition to the run on toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, bleach, and antibacterial soap, you can add ammunition to the list.
The panic buying of toilet paper and cleaning supplies that have temporarily left store shelves bare is also starting to be seen in gun stores around the country, and it may soon have an impact on the availability of some common types of ammunition in the days and weeks ahead.
On Twitter, I asked folks whoâd gone shopping in the past 24 hours to chime in and report on what store shelves looked like while they were in their local gun store. Plenty of people reported back on bare shelves, particularly for 9mm and .223/5.56 rounds.
He goes on to explain that any shortage probably will not be as the result of the difficulty in obtaining the raw materials – lead, copper, and brass – but the possibility that factories might be forced to close temporarily due to COVID-19.
The Power Line Blog which is not a gun blog had this anecdotal report. It came from an unnamed friend who wished to be anonymous and who goes to the range and gun store three times a week on average.
But today it wasnât my place. It was a damn mess.
People, people, people! Everybody is buying guns. It happens every time apocalypse fever fills the air, animated by crazed dreams of civil breakdown, too many viewings of Mad Max, food shortage, the whimsy of life and death, and anyoneâs aching need to protect children, spouse and self. This time itâs COVID-19, but it could be any dodgy possibility as sustained and amplified by the willfully ignorant.
So as I sat there in the crowd, waiting for my turn to get to the firing line, I wondered: Who ARE they?
Theyâre not conservatives. Conservatives already have their guns, many of them of the so-helpful AR and AK variant, and many boxesâand crates and palletsâof ammo. Thatâs because apocalyptic thinking is never far from the conservative mind, with its realthink about the evil that men do and how quickly they can do it. It wasnât a liberal who said, âWhen seconds count, the police are only minutes away.â
So what can you do if your local gun store has run out of either your favorite caliber or your preferred brand?
May I suggest going to Luckygunner.com. You can find your ammo, you will pay a fair price, and it will be delivered to you at home. Click on the banner to go to their website.
I should also note that I am an affiliate of Luckygunner.com and have been since 2011. I will earn a small commission that helps this blog and it won’t cost you any extra. I personally know many of the people there and they are good folks.
With all the talk in the media being on coronavirus, canceled events, and even season cancellations, I thought it would be appropriate to present something different. It’s a good way to start your weekend.
Outdoor writer and big game hunter Ron Spomer discusses one of the more unusual and interesting rifles that I’ve ever seen. It is the Hoenig round action double rifle. This example is in 9.3×62 which is quite popular in Europe.
The creator, George Hoenig, has retired from gunsmithing so if you want one of these beauties, it will come from the secondary market. According to what he said in the interview, the last ones he sold new went for $27,500.
That’s a bit rich for my blood but I can still appreciate his expertise and craftsmanship.
As an aside, I got to chat with Ron at the SHOT Show. What a nice guy!
In a message that went out to NRA Board of Directors this evening, the Annual Meeting scheduled for next month in Nashville has been canceled.
I first saw it in a post by Linda Walker on Facebook and then got the text of it from a friend.
The release from NRA President Carolyn Meadows stated:
With our 149th Annual Meeting scheduled for next month in Nashville, we realize many NRA members and meeting guests have questions about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the potential impact on our convention.
We have been closely monitoring updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Tennessee Department of Health. In fact, earlier today, a state of emergency was declared in Tennessee. Â
Therefore, we have reluctantly decided to cancel this yearâs NRA Annual Meeting, planned for April 16 â 19 in Nashville. This applies to all events and scheduled programs, including the NRA-ILA Forum. We sincerely regret the need for this action, particularly for our many loyal members who join us for this annual celebration of the NRA and our constitutional freedoms. Details regarding the NRA Memberâs Meeting will be forthcoming.
Under the direction of NRA President Carolyn Meadows, the NRA Board of Directors is working with the Office of the Secretary in relation to board elections, meetings, and the like.Â
Please know that we did not reach this decision lightly. We were ultimately guided by our responsibility to help ensure the safety and well-being of our NRA members, guests, and surrounding community. Â
Please coordinate directly with any hotels, airlines or others who have assisted with your travel arrangements. Most companies have announced plans to accommodate travelers dealing with event cancellations. Â Â
Please visit www.nraam.org for additional news and information regarding NRA activities. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
The message that accompanied this release noted that the Annual Meeting of Members will be rescheduled.
To be honest, with the impact of the tornado on Nashville plus the uncertainty over COVID-19 it was inevitable that this was going to happen. If they didn’t do it and just one person got sick or died after contact with an infected person, there would have been hell to pay.
If you have made plane or hotel reservations, most, if not all, companies are allowing them to be canceled with no cancellation fees, etc.
Speaking of coronavirus, this would be a good time to read or re-read Grant Cunningham’s compilation of suggestions and advice on dealing with the pandemic. I do think many people are overreacting as evidenced by the run on toilet paper. An elderly friend today told me the local Walmart not only had a run on toilet paper but on his Pet Ice Cream.
If you have made plane or hotel reservations, most are allowing them to be canceled with no cancellation fees, etc.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) today declared a state of emergency that covers all of North Carolina. It was declared in response to the spread of COVID-19 or the coronavirus. As of Monday, there have been seven confirmed cases of it with six of those in Wake County and the seventh in Chatham County. For non-North Carolinians, that is Raleigh and the Pittsboro/Siler City areas.
Excerpts from Gov. Cooper’s press release:
Governor Roy Cooper took the next step in the stateâs coronavirus COVID-19 preparedness plan today and issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency. The declaration activates the Emergency Operations Center to help agencies coordinate from one location and makes it easier to purchase needed medical supplies, protect consumers from price gouging, and increase county health departmentsâ access to state funds…
Key provisions in the order are similar to those enacted in a natural disaster. The order will help with the cost burdens and supplies that may be difficult for providers and public health to access due to increased demand. It also increases the state public health departmentâs role in supporting local health departments, which have been tasked with monitoring quarantines, tracing exposure and administering testing.
Executive Order No. 116 in its entirety is found here.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane back to January 2010 when there was a heavy snow storm in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The City of King and Stokes County were particularly hard hit. In response, Gov. Beverly Perdue and both locales declared states of emergency. This automatically triggered then NC General Statute § 14-288.7(a) which provided, in part,:
âit is unlawful for any person to transport or possess off his own premises any dangerous weapon or substance in any area: (1) In which a declared state of emergency exists; or (2) Within the immediate vicinity of which a riot is occurring.â
The City of King went further and invoked their powers under NC General Statute § 14-288.12(b). This “forbade the sale or purchase of firearms and ammunition, as well as the possession of firearms and ammunition off an individualâs premises.” It also banned the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Thus, any time a state of emergency covering all of North Carolina or any time a city or county declared a state of emergency, § 14-288.7(a) kicked in and you could not carry a firearm outside your own home. There were no exceptions made for those of us who hold a Concealed Handgun Permit.
Fast forward a few months to June and the US Supreme Court handled down a monumental Second Amendment ruling. That was, of course, McDonald v. Chicago which applied the Second Amendment as an individual right to the states under the 14th Amendment. That was on the morning of June 28, 2010.
By the close of business on June 28th, the Second Amendment Foundation and Grass Roots North Carolina with attorney Alan Gura had filed suit against the State of North Carolina, the City of King, and Stokes County for violating the Second and 14th Amendments. The case, Bateman v. Perdue, using the newly won application of the Second Amendment to the states in McDonald, directly challenged NC’s emergency powers gun bans.
To make a long story short, US District Court Judge Malcom J. Howard, using strict scrutiny found that the emergency powers gun ban did violate the Second Amendment in March 2012.
The problem here is that the emergency declaration statutes, are not narrowly tailored to serve the government’s interest in public safety. They do not target dangerous individuals or dangerous conduct. Nor do they seek to impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions by, for example, imposing a curfew to allow the exercise of Second Amendment rights during circumscribed times. Rather, the statutes here excessively intrude upon plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights by effectively banning them (and the public at large) from engaging in conduct that is at the very core of the Second Amendment at a time when the need for self-defense may be at its very greatest. See Heller, 128 S. Ct. at 2799 (” [A] mericans understood the ‘right of self-preservation’ as permitting a citizen to ‘repe[l] force by force’ when ‘the intervention of society in his behalf, may be too late to prevent an injury. ‘ ” (quoting 1 Blackstone’s Commentaries 145-146, n.42 (1803) ) (second alteration in original)) . Consequently, the emergency declaration laws are invalid as applied to plaintiffs.
Session Law 2012-12 was signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue (D-NC) on June 11, 2012 and became effective on October 1, 2012. This codified the ruling by Judge Howard and repealed NC General Statutes § 14-288.7 and § 14-288.12 through § 14-288.17.
Thanks to Alan Gura, the Second Amendment Foundation, and Grass Roots North Carolina just because seven people have COVID-19 and the governor has declared a state of emergency you can no longer be disarmed. We owe them and the individual plaintiffs a debt of gratitude.
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