Month: September 2010

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Senate Hearing on BATF Reform Postponed

September 13, 2010 by

I received this notice from the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning:

NOTICE OF FULL COMMITTEE HEARING POSTPONEMENT – The Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on “Firearms in Commerce: Assessing the Need for Reform in the Federal Regulatory Process” scheduled for Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building has been postponed.

According to the note from Erica Chabot that accompanied it, there was a conflict with a Defense Appropriations Subcommittee meeting along with a cloture vote both of which were scheduled for the same time as the BATF reform hearings. No date or time has been set yet for the rescheduled hearings.

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The Grey Lady Speaks on the Lead Ammo Ban

September 13, 2010 by 5 Comments

On Friday, I warned that the environmental groups, American Bird Conservancy and the Center for Biological Diversity, were not giving up on their attempts to ban lead based ammunition. With predictable timing and their usual logic, the New York Times editorial page has weighed in on the issue. As SayUncle correctly refers to it, an idiotorial.

They buy the arguments of the environmental lobby without question:

The N.R.A. should consult the hunters among its members. They know that getting lead out of the environment is essential. Lead is as toxic in nature as it is in the form of lead paint in houses. Scientists have established a clear link between lead from ammunition and the poisoning of some 75 species of birds — especially waterfowl and scavengers like condors, eagles and ravens.

As to consulting hunters, I suggest that the NY Times consult hunters instead. They would find that most feel that lead shot and lead bullets let them kill game more cleanly. Moreover, I doubt that many target shooters could afford to shoot Barnes copper-based bullets on a regular basis. It is a great bullet but with the world price of copper so high, it isn’t cheap.

The Times concludes with this:

We urge the E.P.A. to reconsider this hasty decision. The agency has the authority it needs to regulate the lead in ammunition as a toxic substance, even though it isn’t authorized to regulate the manufacture of ammunition itself. (It has said it will consider a ban on lead fishing sinkers, which would be welcome, but that is not going nearly far enough.) A bullet fired from a hunter’s gun should kill only once, not go on killing again and again.

The EPA may or may not have the authority to regulate the lead in ammo. It is borderline legally and I predict that regardless of which side ultimately wins, it will end up in court. Frankly, it is time for Congress to clarify that ammunition and its components are outside of the EPA’s oversight.

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Glock Gen 3 Versus Gen 4 – What’s the Difference

September 12, 2010 by 1 Comment

Steve Koski, IDPA champion, engineer, and occasional visitor to the GunDudes podcast, has published a report on the differences between a Gen 3 Glock 17 and a Gen 4 Glock 17.

His report tears down the two generations of Gloc 17’s as only an engineer could do. It delves into the minutiae of the differences. Steve also present his perceptions of the differences in terms of shooting.

If you have been wondering whether to stick with the Gen 3 or move up to the Gen 4, this report is well worth a read.

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They Just Won’t Go Away

September 10, 2010 by

The Shooting Wire reported this morning the Center for Biogical Diversity, the American Bird Conservancy, and other groups that brought the petition to the EPA seeking to ban lead in firearms ammunition are not giving up. The groups plan to challenge the ruling by the EPA that lead in ammunition is beyond their authority. They have submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request requesting all documents related to the decision.

In a press release sent out by CBD , they say:

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s denial was based on false assumptions and an inexplicable misreading of so-called exemptions in the Act,” said Adam Keats, senior counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Given the EPA’s clear authority and duty under the Toxic Substances Control Act to regulate toxic lead in ammunition to end unnecessary lead poisoning of wildlife and reduce human health risk, it appears that their decision to dodge the issue was politically motivated.”

Later in the press release, they add:

“We are going to get to the bottom of the politics behind the EPA decision — we are not going to let the agency simply walk away from the preventable poisoning of birds and other wildlife,” said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the Center. “We remain committed to making sure toxic lead is removed from the environment, and we’re continuing our campaign to see that through.”

The American Bird Conservancy is similarly upset. In their press release, they say the EPA made a wrong decision and that electoral politics were involved. According to Darin Schroeder, their VP for “conservation advocacy”:

The EPA erred, either purposely or by not reading the applicable laws we cited in our extensive, well-researched petition, in their rush to dismiss the hunting ammunition portion of our complaint before the November elections.

They want a meeting with Steve Owens, the EPA Assistant Administrator, to get answers. So far he has blown them off and they are mad.

it is the obligation of the Administration to accept its legal responsibility and affirmatively act on this issue within 90 days time. Without question, we are looking at all options for recourse

The late political scientist Harold Lasswell long ago defined politics as who gets what, when, and how. These so-called environmental groups knew they couldn’t ban hunting or lead ammunition if they went the legislative route. When their backdoor attempt to do the same was ultimately stopped (so far), then, and only then, did they begin to cry “politics”.

It was politics from the moment they filed their petition and they know it. If some Obama political appointee at EPA stopped this because he knew it would make a bad November even worse for the Democrats, tough. If your erstwhile allies are telling you to knock it off, you might want to listen. However, when it comes to true believers, you just can’t tell them no and have them listen.

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Trigger the Vote

September 10, 2010 by

I think the NRA has a winner with this ad. It mixes humor with a serious message – we need to vote. And to vote you need to be registered to vote. If aren’t registered to vote and you are over 18 and a citizen, then what the hell is wrong with you?

Frankly, I hate some of the Federal laws that have made it so easy to be registered and so hard to check if someone is registered illegally. I registered to vote on my 18th birthday. I went down to the Guilford County Courthouse and did it. It meant something to me doing it that way and I haven’t missed an election or primary in 35 years. That said, it is so easy to register to vote that there are no good excuses for not being registered.

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Finance Friday

September 10, 2010 by 1 Comment

There is an old saying that the only thing certain in life is death and taxes. For this Finance Friday, I will be talking about making tax decisions in a period of uncertainty and what can happen if you do a DIY (do it yourself) will.

Tax Decisions in Limbo

If Congress does nothing, the Bush tax cuts will expire at the end of the year. Officially, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 sunsets at the end of 2010. What does this mean for you?

First, the 10% tax bracket goes away and 15% becomes the lowest tax bracket. With all the talk about the EGGTRA giving the rich and wealthy tax breaks, we tend to forget about this part. Thus, tax payers in the lowest bracket could be facing a 50% increase in taxes.

Second, the maximum capital gains rate will rise from 15% to 20%. If you have been sitting on unrealized capital gains – that is appreciated stock or property that hasn’t been sold yet – you have to make a decision about whether it is better to keep holding it or sell before the end of the year.

Third, many dividends are only taxed at 15%. These are called qualified dividends. Next year, if EGGTRA is allowed to expire, all dividends will again be taxed as ordinary income. For some, this means dividends will be taxed at up to 39.6%.

With all the competing proposals about either letting the tax cuts expire or to extend them for various amounts of time, what should you do?

Tax lawyer Robert Wood has some suggestions in this article in Forbes. One thing I’d say for sure is that you want to discuss this with your tax adviser if you are sitting on capital gains.

Do It Yourself Wills or Why You Really Want an Attorney

If the late Chief Justice Warren Burger can screw up a will – and he did – what makes you think something you copied out of a book at the library will pass muster. Burger left an estate of approximately $1.8 million. Due to the way he wrote the will, he ended up costing his heirs $450,000 in estate taxes. A moderately competent estate lawyer would have cut this bill to virtually nothing.

Everyone has a will whether they know it or not. If you don’t make your wishes known by drawing up a will, the state will do it for you. This is what is known as dying in testate or without a valid will. Your assets will be divided according to the provisions of state law. The bottom line is that your wishes while alive have no impact unless you draw up a will.

And this leads to the best argument for having an attorney draw up your will. A will assures that what you want to have happen in terms of the distribution of your assets at your death, will. Every state has differing laws when it comes to wills and inheritances. The software you buy at Target or BestBuy rarely takes this into account. The DIY Wills book you checked out from the library might be OK for California but not work in North Carolina. In terms of marital assets, California is a community property state and North Carolina is a common law state. They have differing methods of dividing an estate.

What kind of attorney do you need? A general practice attorney might do a good job but your odds increase to near 100% if you get a board-certified estates and trusts attorney.

If you need more convincing, then read this article by Deborah Jacobs. It contains some good advice and some real horror stories.

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FN SCAR Shooting Impressions – Video

September 10, 2010 by

Andrew of the Vuurwapen Blog gives his impressions about shooting the FN Mk 16 SCAR-L in the video below.

If you haven’t visited the Vuurwapen Blog, you need to. It has to be one of the best sources of reliable, tested info on the AR and related platforms out there. Andrew thoroughly tests weapons, provides great videos which illustrate his points, and is a “been there, done that” kind of guy without being obnoxious about it.

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Kachalsky v. Cacace Pre-Motion Conference Today (bumped)

September 9, 2010 by 1 Comment

Judge Kathy Seibel’s pre-motion conference on the proposed motions to dismiss from Westchester County and the State of New York as well as the proposed counter-motion by the plaintifs is scheduled for 2:15pm this afternoon (Sept. 7th) in White Plains, NY. Judge Seibel requires an informal pre-motion conference before she allows formal motions to be introduced in her court.

The letters from all parties are discussed in detail here.

As soon as any details emerge, I’ll be posting them.

UPDATE:  After checking Pacer.gov for any word on the hearing, I finally emailed Alan Gura about it. In his email response, he notes that the hearing was mostly “ordinary housekeeping”and setting the briefing schedule – the normal stuff that goes on in any case. There will be cross-motions produced and filed. These will appear in Pacer.gov in time.

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San Francisco’s High Bridge Arms Can Reopen

September 9, 2010 by

Despite hundreds of e-mails and letters opposing the re-opening of San Francisco’s only gun store, High Bridge Arms, the Police Department granted them a conditional permit to reopen. The 3-member panel that heard High Bridge’s request said that the opponents “had failed to offer evidence backing their assertion that the store brought crime to the neighborhood.”

In a post I did on this in August, I noted one of the suggestions for the space was a wine and cheese store or a laundry. In virtually any other city in the world, I’d have said the person making that suggestion was being sarcastic. In San Francisco, they mean it.

The permit does impose some conditions upon High Bridge Arms. They must update their security including increased video surveillance and waist-high crash barriers outside to prevent cars from smashing throught the store’s front. High Bridge is also being required to lock up all firearms in a safe outside of business hours as well as require a parent or guardian to accompany those under 18 entering the store. In a bone tossed to the neighborhood on appearance, they can’t have any advertising on their display windows.

The owners had no problem with the requirement to update their security. Steve Alcairo, the store’s manager, said “It’s a fair request. It’s about following the letter of the law, and that’s what we do.”

Despite all the e-mails and letters opposing the re-opening, only 4 people bothered to speak against it at the hearing while 10 spoke for it.

This is pretty typical in my opinion given how easy it is to pop out an email opposing something. However, when it comes down to actually going to a hearing and testifying, it becomes too much trouble. Fortunately, the good guys won this round.