by Courtesy of the National Shooting Sports Foundation and Gunsite Academy comes this short video on the way to clear a malfunction in a semi-auto pistol. It is a good short training video.
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Brady Campaign Says Oops – Never Mind
Like a scene from the first season of Saturday Night Live where Gilda Radner’s character Miss Emily Litella is always saying “Never mind!”, so it is with the Brady Center.
Yesterday they had this announcement on their website trumpeting their filing an amicus brief in the NRA’s Texas case D’Cruz et al v. McCraw et al:
Brady Center Urges Court to Throw Out NRA Lawsuit to Allow Teenagers to Carry Concealed Firearms
Nov 17, 2010
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today filed a brief in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas urging the court to throw out an NRA lawsuit claiming that teens and young persons ages 18-20 have a constitutional right to carry loaded, concealed weapons in public.
“It is dangerous and reckless for the NRA to claim that teenagers should be allowed to carry loaded semiautomatic weapons on our streets and playgrounds. The Second Amendment allows for commonsense gun laws, it doesn’t require that we legally allow armed teens in our communities,” said Brady Center President Paul Helmke.
The lawsuit, filed by the National Rifle Association, claims that the Second Amendment requires that states allow teens and young persons ages 18-20 to carry loaded firearms in public. It seeks to overturn a Texas law that generally prohibits the carrying of loaded, concealed weapons by people under age 21. Texas is one of 36 states that restricts the possession or carrying of firearms by teens and young persons ages 18-20. The Texas Constitution specifically allows the regulation of public gun carrying, stating that the “Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.”
The brief cites studies showing that young persons under 21 often lack the same ability as adults to “govern impulsivity, judgment, planning for the future, and foresight of consequences.” People aged 18-20 fall within the age range of offenders who commit the highest rates homicide and engage in criminal gun possession.
According to the Brady Center brief, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Second Amendment protects a limited, narrow “right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home” but has also made clear that the right to bear arms “is not infringed by laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons.” Laws restricting teenage gun possession and carrying are reasonable gun laws permissible under the Second Amendment.
The Brady Center amicus brief was filed today in the case D’Cruz v. McCraw by attorneys with the Brady Center, the law firm Hogan Lovells and Texas attorney Scott Medlock. The Brady Center was joined on the brief by Texas organizations Mothers Against Teen Violence and the Texas Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Today, in that same court, they filed a motion to withdraw their application of amici curiae.
In light of the fact that defendants have not moved to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint and have instead requested additional time to respond to the Amended Complaint, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Mothers Against Teen Violence, and Texas Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, through undersigned counsel, move to withdraw their application for leave to file a brief as amici curiae.
This move was not opposed by either the NRA or the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
Perhaps to make up for their premature filing of their brief, the Brady Campaign then filed an application to file an amicus brief in the Westchester County (NY) pistol permit case, Kachalsky et al v. Cacace et al. They attached as an exhibit the proposed amicus brief.
However, as I noted in a post describing the first endorsed letters in this case, Judge Cathy Seibel’s Individual Practices 2.A. requires a pre-motion conference arranged by letter before a motion is allowed to be entered into the record. She makes no mention of amici curiae filings. One must wonder if the Brady Campaign is quite aware of just how tightly Judge Seibel runs her courtroom. If not, they well could be in for a surprise and may have to say “never mind” again.
The Brady Campaign – the Miss Emily Litella of gun control groups.
UPDATE: David Codrea has a post on an earlier oopsie that the Brady Campaign had with an amicus brief here.
No Appeal in Wisconsin Concealed Carry Case
About a month ago, I did a post on Clark County, WI Judge Jon Counsell who ruled that that Wisconsin’s ban on concealed carry was unconstitutional. At the time it was widely speculated that the State of Wisconsin would appeal that ruling.
They didn’t.
In an email that I received today from Asst. State Public Defender William Poss he said, “The good news is that the state did not appeal the ruling.” That is good news indeed for residents of Clark County, Wisconsin!
With the recent electoral victories of Republican Scott Walker as Governor and the Republican take-over of both houses of the Wisconsin State Assembly, look to see a bill authorizing concealed carry statewide in 2011.
Traver’s Nomination Sent To The Senate By White House
This was announced yesterday on the White House’s website:
The White HouseOffice of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release November 17, 2010 Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate, 11/17/10
NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:Daniel L. Shields III, of Pennsylvania, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Brunei Darussalam.
Joseph M. Torsella, of Pennsylvania, to be Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador.
Joseph M. Torsella, of Pennsylvania, to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform.
Andrew L. Traver, of Illinois, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. (New Position)
WITHDRAWAL SENT TO THE SENATE:
Marsha Ternus, of Iowa, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute for a term expiring September 17, 2012, vice Robert A. Miller, term expired, which was sent to the Senate on September 13, 2010.
It’s official now. Time to start writing both of your state’s Senators even if they are anti-gun sorts. No letters, faxes, or emails let them say they didn’t hear any opposition to Andrew Traver as the head of ATF.
C. K. Shivers – The Gun
Former Marine infantry officer and foreign correspondent for the New York Times C. K. Chivers recently published a book called The Gun. It is a look at the history, development, design, and role of the AK-47 in conflicts around the globe. The video below is a brief overview of the book as told by Chivers himself. One point made about the book is that it will not appeal to the hardcore AK fanatic. As the Kitup Blog says about it:
Chivers forced me to retract my statement during the lead in to the show that he was a “sort of gun expert.” He admits that he’s done a lot of reporting on guns, talked to a lot of fighters who use them and researched the history of firearms, but it’s not like Col. Doug Tamilio at PEO Soldier Weapons is ringing his phone off the hook with a job offer.
If you’re into the caliber debate, want to relive the ill-fated rush to field the M-16, are a student of the civil war, World War II and the Cold War, like the M-14 better than the AK-47, like the AK-47 better than the M-14, are a student of the inner workings of Soviet economic planning and international revolutions or are intrigued by how something as simple as a rifle gets from paper to palm, The Gun has something in it for you.
Christian at the Kitup Blog did a longer interview with Chivers. It runs about 30 minutes and can be found in the embedded player below.
ATF – Circling the Wagons
In my earlier posts on Andrew Traver, I referred to a website and forum run by dissident ATF agents upset with the mismanagement and corruption within BATFE called CleanUpATF.org. The comments from these agents who know or had worked with Traver was that he a nice guy but out of his league as a manager.
That was then and this is now. It looks like even those who were his harshest critics within ATF are circling the wagons and supporting Traver.
The comments from earliest to last:
A new ATF Director has finally been nominated. As expected, the Chicago SAC has been given the nod and officially nominated to the position. The change in leadership is long overdue. We can only hope he will lead this agency into the future and not into the ground, like the last few folks. Also, we can hope that he cleans house in SOD, starting with the Chief and his little shadow, the newly promoted Deputy Chief. Maybe we can get back to the basics and support the everyday working agents out on the street. Please carry this agency into the future.
Don’t get your hopes up. This is all smoke and mirrors. DOJ and the White House have never really tried to find someone for director. Traver is all they half-heartedly put together. He will never pass confirmation. My bet is that he gets a hold put on his nomination within a week.
I would encourage all of us to give Traver our support. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has a massive mess to clean up but lets hold out hope that he can do it. He deserves a chance to succeed. There is not much patience left out there so no doubt he does needs to go to work quick.
I think we’ll find out pretty quick if he is the real deal. If the White House put him in the Director’s chair just to keep a seat warm and fend off the critics, we’ll see that immediately. If he comes in and makes moves and decisions and improvements then he’ll do everything that Melson couldn’t or wouldn’t and likely be embraced. I am a little amazed that they left Traver all this baggage that his predessors created but time will tell if he can man up and get things working again. I will say this, if he doesn’t move quick then he’ll be in trouble. The men and women of ATF need results now. If he drags his feet he is going to be viewed as another Truscott-Sullivan-Melson DOJ lap dog. Good luck Traver, bring us back please.
Did he ever remove that ASAC who purchased the Cadillac?
If his first decision is to appoint Martin DD, he’s already lost. Probably trying to fly under the radar, the U. S. Attys office released (over the weekend) that the big NEUTRALITY ACT case Martin supported and solf the Director on, has been dismissed. They did not mention the ONLY thing seized in that huge caper, THE BLACK RHINO HORN. Yes it got Martin press and yes he wasted an entire squads resources and yes he seized NO GUNS. I guess the good news is that he allow us to blow $235000+ like he did on the OTHER big wire case. Great Job.
I think we owe Traver a chance and not be quick to pre-judge. We all ponder what we would do different if we were to replace our boss. Traver is a well educated man and I have to believe that he has seen the decline of this agency over the last few years. Lets give him the benefit of the doubt that he is well intentioned, will seek good counsel, learn from past mistakes and focus on mission. It is about time we have a cop at the helm, the lawyers have proved inadequate and incapable of decision making.
We have NO choice but to give him a chance. Its the right thing to do. BUT He only gets SO LONG to say, “I inherited these problems” before he too will be held accountable. This is OUR Bureau too.
Work fast Mr. Traver. We want you to have success and be a great Director but you have to work fast. Stop the trainwreck and you will be the peoples champ.
One of the first rules of any bureaucracy is that intense infighting is allowed and even encouraged. However, any attack from outside the organization must be resisted at all costs even if it is aimed at someone you despise.
Big Media – Andrew Who?
If one was to depend on the mainstream media or big media to know that Andrew Traver had been nominated by President Obama to be the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, you’d be out of luck.
Only two of the 25 largest newspapers in the country have any mention of the Traver nomination. The New York Times had a report on Nov. 15th and originally spelled Traver as “Taver”. They didn’t give much info other than that Traver is the SAC for the Chicago Field Division and that his confirmation would probably be opposed.
Al Kamen had a brief mention of Traver in his In The Loop column yesterday. Kamen’s column was where Traver’s nomination was first floated as a trial balloon back in August. He had this to say about it:
As we mentioned back on Aug. 4, if approved, Traver would be the first-ever Senate-confirmed ATF director. The position had been filled (at the Treasury Department and more recently at Justice) without Senate input. Since the job became Senate-confirmable in 2006, it seems, no one has made it past the watchful eyes of the gun lobby.
Hard to imagine Traver will be approved by the new Senate.
The only mention of Traver’s nomination in the Chicago area was on the WLS-TV, the ABC affiliate. Even then all they did was reprint the relevant parts of the press release from the White House announcing the nomination. No other newspaper or TV/radio station has any mention of Traver on their websites and that includes both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.
So what about the major broadcast and cable networks? Nothing. No ABC, NBC, or CBS. No CNN, Fox, or MSNBC.
One must wonder why Andrew Traver is being treated as such a stealth candidate in the media. Is it because his appointment only matters to the gun culture and the anti-gun rights forces and for the rest of the world it is considered ho-hum news? Or is it because the intent is to sneak Traver through the confirmation process?
Sebastian at Snow Flakes in Hell is of the opinion that Obama is just waiting until Congress goes into recess to make this a recess appointment which wouldn’t require the advice and consent of the Senate. Traver would hold the office until the end of the next Congress or until the 112th Congress ends in 2012. We’ll just have to wait a few more days and see.
UPDATE: David Codrea agrees with Sebastian on the possibility of a recess appointment for Traver. He goes over the details in his National Gun Rights Examiner column.
UPDATE II: Welcome Instapundit readers and thanks to Glenn for the Instalanche!
Here are links to my earlier posts on Andrew Traver.
I Don’t Believe in Coincidences
Feel free to post any or all of these blog entries on your favorite forum. Since the Big Media isn’t going to publicize the nomination, it will take an Army of Davids to do it instead. All I ask is that you include a link back to the original.
NRA Weighs In On Andrew Traver
This was sent out this morning by the NRA-ILA:
The National Rifle Association Strongly Opposes the Nomination of Andrew Traver to Head BATFE, Calls on President Obama to withdraw the nomination
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Statement from Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action
The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama’s nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a “recess appointment,” in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators.
Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” a “partnership” with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists.
The IACP report, generated with Traver’s help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as “assault weapons,” as well as calling for bans on .50 caliber rifles and widely used types of ammunition. The report also suggests that Congress should regulate gun shows out of existence and should repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt Amendment — all efforts strongly opposed by the NRA and its members.
Traver also participated in an extremely deceptive NBC Chicago report (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Assault-Weapons-Surge-in-City-69620227.html) in which he referred to “the growing frequency of gang members and drug dealers using heavy caliber military-type weapons” and described them as if they were machine guns: “Pull the trigger and you can mow people down.” Traver and his agents provided the reporter with a fully automatic AK-47, with which she was unable to hit the target. He then said that stray bullets are “one of the main problems with having stuff like this available to the gangs.”
As the Agent-in-Charge of Chicago’s BATFE office, Traver knows that fully automatic firearms are not available through normal retail channels — the opposite of what was implied in the report.
An agency involved in the regulation of a fundamental, individual right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution should not be led by an individual with a demonstrated hostility to that freedom. For that reason, the NRA strongly opposes Andrew Traver to head the BATFE and urges President Obama to withdraw this ill-advised nomination.
–NRA–
Brady Center on Andrew Traver
This was released yesterday by the gun control lobby aka the Brady Center:
Brady Center Applauds Obama Administration Nomination of ATF Director
Nov 16, 2010
Washington, D.C. – The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today applauded the Obama Administration’s announcement that a director has been nominated to oversee the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). If confirmed, Andrew Traver – currently Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the ATF- would be the agency’s first full-fledged director since 2006.
“We are pleased that President Obama is moving forward with a nominee to lead the ATF. This long-needed appointment is welcome news,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Center.
In August, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence issued a report calling on President Obama to name a director to the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
“Three months ago, we urged the President to fill this crucial position,” said Helmke. “This job was left vacant at a time when thousands of Americans were being shot, illegal gun trafficking from here was fueling violence in Mexico, and extremists were turning to guns to wage terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, the director-less ATF had been weakened by understaffing and a serious lack of modern crime-fighting tools.”
If confirmed, Traver would be taking over an agency that is “under siege” by the gun lobby and its allies in Congress. The National Rifle Association and the gun industry are supporting legislation – the misnamed ATF “Reform and Firearms Modernization” Act – that would dramatically weaken ATF’s ability to even further shut down corrupt gun dealers and stop gun traffickers.
“Past ATF directors have been crucial advocates for strong law enforcement authority to combat gun trafficking and gun violence. They have spoken publicly, testified before Congress, and advocated within their Administrations about the need for strong gun laws,” continued Helmke. “If Mr. Traver is confirmed, we are hopeful that he will be a strong voice for the strengthening and effective enforcement of our gun laws.”
I wonder when we will be hearing from Andy Traver’s old friends Kristen Rand and Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center or are they planning to keep that on the “down low.”
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. on Andrew Traver
Yesterday, the office of Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) released this:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rep. Jackson Congratulates Chicago’s Andrew Tarver on Nomination to Head Federal
Agency
Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. issued the following statement on the nomination of Mr. Andrew Traver, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE), to be the Bureau’s national director:“I’m very pleased that Mr. Andrew Traver has been nominated to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the Department of Justice. I have worked with Mr. Traver over the years and he has served the Chicago Field Division of the ATFE with great distinction. In addition, Mr. Traver has served in key ATFE roles at national headquarters in Washington, DC, and in the San Francisco, New Orleans and Philadelphia Field Divisions. I’ve seen his outstanding work firsthand, and know he will bring extraordinary experience, energy and expertise as Director. I am hopeful that the Senate will confirm Mr. Traver’s nomination tothis vital post as soon as possible.”
In terms of gun control support, Jackson was a co-sponsor of HR 1312 -Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005. This bill was Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s effort to reinstate the Clinton assault weapons (sic) ban which had expired in 2004. This bill died in committee.