The Supreme Court opened its October term today and released a number of orders. Included in this was an order denying New York City’s suggestion of mootness in NYSRPA v. City of New York
18-280 NY STATE RIFLE & PISTOL, ET AL. V. NEW YORK, NY, ET AL.
The Respondents’ Suggestion of Mootness is denied. The question of mootness will be subject to further consideration at oral argument, and the parties should be prepared to discuss it.
This is good news for those of us wanting the case to be decided.
UPDATE
I asked the Law Department of the City of New York if they had any comment on the denial of the Suggestion of Mootness. Here is what I received from their press secretary.
We look forward to addressing the issues at the December oral argument.
Nick Paolucci Press Secretary
I guess that is as close to saying “No Comment” as you can get without actually saying it.
Sean Sorrentino opened my eyes regarding red flag laws. In a segment originally posted to the Assorted Calibers Podcast, he said we shouldn’t argue on due process grounds. Instead the argument against red flag laws is that they don’t work.
These laws arrest the gun and leave the dangerous or troubled person on the streets. There are a myriad of ways that they still can harm either themselves or us. You need only look in your kitchen or medicine chest to know that.
You may not agree with Sean on whether or not due process is afforded to the person in question. However, it is hard to argue that these laws are effective.
I met with Sean last week while he and his lovely wife were coming through the area on vacation. I mentioned I really liked that segment. He graciously has uploaded it to YouTube specifically so I could embed it. My thanks to Sean for doing this.
If gun-control activists want to make a real impact, then I suggest that they join the National Rifle Association en masse and change the organization from within. Nothing else seems to work, so if you can’t beat them, then join the terrorists and convert them into a responsible organization that will support reasonable gun-control laws.
A yearly membership is $45. Surely there are hundreds of thousands of energized gun-control supporters who could invest the time and money needed to do the job, one that will cost a lot less than buying Congress, which the NRA has already done.
Mr. Allendorf has a profound ignorance of the organization’s bylaws.
To be able to vote on directors and bylaw changes you must, as most of my readers know, be either in one of the classes of Life Members or be a five year continuous annual member. You have to wonder how many of these anti-rights activists are willing to stick around every year for five years. I’d wager not that many.
Let’s say 200,000 ignorant anti-rights activists are energized by Mr. Allendorf’s call to action and actually pay the $45 to join as an annual member. Don’t you think both Wayne LaPierre and CFO Craig Spray would welcome that additional $9 million in membership dues? Of course they would!
The sad thing is that the NRA has already been taken over from within.
Through a mixture of bylaw changes, ignorance, inertia, and questionable actions, any pretense of member control was killed long ago. You have a board that answers to hired help. The Old Guard is showing no signs of any willingness to reform.
Reform will eventually come. It will come as a result of the New York Attorney General’s actions. Alternatively, it can come if enough voting members say enough. I know which alternative I prefer.
When CBS Sunday Morning was announcing their stories this morning, I must admit I rolled my eyes when I heard they were interviewing Ed Stack of DICK’S. Thanks to Dianna Muller, it was more balanced than I anticipated.
The story had interviews by CBS’s Lee Cowan with Stack, Dianna Muller, and Michael Bloomberg. Dianna provided a great counter-point to Stack and Bloomberg. It should be noted that Stack is pushing his new book, It’s How We Plan the Game, which is being published by another division of the company that owns CBS.
Then there was this quote that must have executives with NSSF thinking someone is finally getting the language right:
The “it” he’s talking about is the AR-15, a lightweight semi-automatic modern sporting rifle similar to the one used in the Sandy Hook massacre. He ordered all of them be removed from every Dick’s Sporting Goods store across the country.
While Cowan did link it to the Newtown murders, he didn’t call it an “assault weapon” or “assault rifle”. That in and of itself is remarkable nowadays.
His interview with Dianna was quite good. As you can see if you watch the video, it included footage of her shooting as well as other women from A Girl and A Gun at an event in Kentucky.
When asked why she has an AR-15, she said this:
Muller has become a high-profile spokesperson for the gun rights movement. She’s testified on Capitol Hill about carrying a firearm, specifically an AR-15.
That’s the very rifle that Dick’s is no longer selling.
Cowan asked, “Is it a fair question to ask why you need a gun like that?”
“No,” Muller replied.
“Because?
“This rifle, and any other rifle, kills fewer people than hammers and blunt objects every year, according to FBI statistics,” she said, “so it doesn’t make any sense to me that this is going to solve the problem that we are having.”
Her worry is the same that the National Rifle Association has voiced for a long time: if one gun like the AR-15 is demonized, then all guns may soon follow.
“It leads me to believe that there’s going to be another tragedy with a different gun, that they’re going to come after the next gun,” she said.
“This is the slippery slope?” Cowan asked.
“Until it’s all gone.”
The story ends with Stack being somewhat coy about his future plans for firearm sales at DICK’S. He said it was under “strategic review.” As I noted on Friday, his company is selling eight of their Field & Stream stores to Sportsman’s Warehouse. I would not be surprised to see the remainder either sold or shut down.
The anti-rights policies of Dick’s Sporting Goods are coming home to roost. Sportsman’s Warehouse announced that they were acquiring eight existing Field & Stream stores from Dicks.
MIDVALE, Utah, Sept. 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWH) announced today that it has entered into agreements with DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) to acquire 8 Field & Stream locations. The acquired stores will be operated as Sportsman’s Warehouse stores and are located in Pennsylvania (3), New York (2), North Carolina (2) and Michigan (1). The total purchase price of $28 million for inventory and assets will be funded through borrowings under Sportsman’s revolving credit facility. Sportsman’s will sublease the eight locations from DICK’S. The transaction is expected to close on October 11, 2019 subject to customary closing conditions.
This acquisition is consistent with Sportsman’s strategy to return to a more typical store growth pattern, following a period of investment in omni-channel capabilities, technology, and debt reduction over the last two years.
“We are very pleased to announce this opportunistic expansion of our current 95 store base through the acquisition of these 8 Field & Stream locations. Each of these stores operate in strong markets, with well-established customer bases. We look forward to serving these communities with our continued strong commitment to provide outstanding gear and exceptional service to inspire outdoor memories.” said Jon Barker, Chief Executive Officer.
DICK’S CEO Ed Stack said in August that the company is engaging in a “broader strategic review of our hunt business, including Field & Stream.”
Translated this means that “you damned bitter clingers have decided to shop elsewhere because of my anti-rights, gun control posturing.”
That would be pretty much correct. I haven’t stepped foot in either a DICK’S or a Field & Stream since Stack decided it was good business to virtue signal on gun control.
The industry was outraged when Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) announced it would remove guns from its nationwide chain. Now, it appears the company is quietly abandoning their Field & Stream stores as well.
Yesterday, it was reported that Dick’s was selling eight of its 35 Field & Stream branded stores to Sportsman’s Warehouse. Seems Utah-based Sportsman’s Warehouse feels the locations (Camp Hill and Altoona, PA, Horseheads and Rochester, NY, Greensboro and Asheville, NC and Troy, Michigan) are “opportunistic expansion” openings and worth the reported $28-million purchase price.
In fact, Sportsman’s Warehouse CEO Jon Baker described the eight locations as “strong markets with well-established customer bases.” All good for a company that has solidly identified with hunters and the shooting markets.
Dick’s has yet to clearly state what has become, essentially, a foregone conclusion- they plan to remove hunting gear from all their Dick’s locations (125 more this year) and dispose of the remaining 27 Field & Stream brand stores as quickly as is practicable.
I, for one, am pleased to be getting a Sportsman’s Warehouse in Asheville. The old Field & Stream store is in a good location, has an exterior that screams outdoors, and is next to the Asheville Outlet Mall. This is just the type of outdoors store that we have been waiting for in western North Carolina.
The Greensboro location is also ideal for Sportsman’s Warehouse. While the Piedmont Triad does have a couple of Gander Outdoors stores and an Academy Sports, there is nothing like a Sportman’s Warehouse, Cabela’s, or Bass Pro Shops in the area. The closest would be either the Raleigh area or the Charlotte area.
A gun show scheduled to take place at the WNC Ag Center this weekend has been canceled amid concerns about Legionnaires’ disease, show organizers say.
Asheville Gun and Knife Show organizer Mike Kent said WNC Ag Center Manager Matt Buchanan contacted him on Wednesday afternoon to notify him of the cancellation.
Kent said Buchanan told him canceling the event was the best thing to do, pending final testing for legionellosis.
The Mountain State Fair closed its 2019 run in mid-September. It is held at the WNC Ag Center just like the gun show. Since then, over 100 cases of Legionnaire’s Disease has been traced to fair visitors. The age range of those infected goes from 24 years old to 90. There has been one death attributed to it and 65% of those infected have been hospitalized.
The CDC says Legionella is a freshwater bacteria that is spread as contaminated water droplets are aerosolized and then inhaled. Thus, anything from a water fountain to an air conditioning system could spread the bacteria.
I can’t say that I’m upset by this. I planned to man the Grass Roots North Carolina booth on Saturday and Sunday. The thought that the exposition building might be contaminated had crossed my mind.
UPDATE:
State health officials have found Legionnella bacteria in the Davis Event Center of the WNC Ag Center. This was to have been the location of the Asheville Gun and Knife Show.
In a conference call with the media, state health officials said 124 cases have been outlined three conclusions. People who were diagnosed were more likely to have been in the Davis Event Center, more likely to have walked by hot tub displays at the building and likely to have attended the latter half of the Mountain State Fair.
Officials also stated that a positive sample of Legionella bacteria was found in a women’s restroom at the Davis Center. The sample was taken before last week’s Asheville Quilt Show, but was not discovered to be positive until after the show, which drew thousands of people. Experts did not believe that sample posed a threat to the public.
The Lake City Ammunition Plant is the primary supplier of small arms ammunition to the military. It was established in December 1940 and began producing ammunition in 1941. The plant covers almost 4,000 acres outside of Independence, Missouri. It has, according the US Army Joint Munitions Command, ” 408 buildings, 43 magazines, nine warehouses, 11 igloos and storage capacity of 707,000 square feet. “
The facility has been run by ATK and subsequent companies since 2000. Thus, it is currently being run by Northrup Grumman Innovation Systems after their merger with Orbital ATK. It is why much of the excess production is available through Federal Ammunition’s American Eagle brand.
The Joint Munitions Command issued a request for proposal in June 2017 for the operation, maintenance, and modernization of the Lake City Plant. A final RFP was issued in November 2018 and responses were due by the end of the year. This past week it was announced that the Winchester Division of Olin Corporation was the winner of the contract. The contract will go through September 27, 2029.
P. Beretta is the world’s oldest continually operating firearms company. They trace their history back to 1526 making arquebus barrels. Their products range from the ultra-utilitarian Beretta 92 series of handguns to exquisitely beautiful double shotguns.
A few years ago they produced a short film illustrating the interface between high technology and hand craftmanship in their high end shotguns. It was exceedingly well done and perfect to watch on a Monday morning.
I met Shane Thurston for the first time at the Gun Rights Policy Conference held in Chicago. That was the year after the win in McDonald v. Chicago and the late Otis McDonald himself was there. He and I would then meet periodically at GRPC over the next number of years and became friends.
This year we started talking about him contributing to the blog and he agreed. While I have resisted adding others besides the Complementary Spouse to the blog, Shane brings something to the blog that I can’t. That is, he knows what it is like to be a gun owner behind enemy lines.
He lived in the Chicagoland area for many years and now lives in Westchester County, New York. Sometimes work and your spouse’s work doesn’t leave you with many options.
He will be writing about guns, the Second Amendment, and personal safety from that perspective. He will be submitting pieces on an occasional basis which I hope becomes more regular.
Here is a picture of Shane when he first learned about the NY SAFE Act.
Well, actually, it might be a picture of his standard poodle Kaiser but you get the drift.
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