Month: March 2011

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Concealed Carry In NC Restaurants And Parks Gets Second Hearing

March 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

The North Carolina House Judiciary A Subcommittee will hold hearings on HB 111 on Wednesday. This bill would allow concealed carry holders to carry in restaurants and eating establishiments that serve alcohol and to carry in city or county parks (but not state parks). Concealed carry holders still would not be allowed to drink while carrying concealed.

This bill was heard before the same subcommittee last week but no vote was taken.

HB 111 would still allow restaurant owners to post their establishments prohibiting concealed carry. Nonetheless, some restaurant owners oppose the bill according to a story in the Fayetteville Observer.

In Fayetteville, manager Mike Callahan of The Big Apple Restaurant & Sports Pub and co-owner Josh Collins of Huske Hardware House Restaurant & Brewery in Fayetteville think the law change would threaten the lives of their patrons and employees.

Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, takes issue with some of the dire predictions and hyperbole.

“Just because I happen to walk into Fat Boy’s buffet restaurant in Mooresville, that happens to have beer in the line, why should I not be able to protect my family?” said Paul Valone of Grass Roots North Carolina, a gun rights advocacy group that is pushing for the law change. “I suspect some of the people involved in the Luigi’s restaurant shooting in Fayetteville a number of years back would probably agree with me.”

Criminals avoid places where they think people could be armed, Valone said.

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Shocking Undercover Video Of A…….Legal Purchase

March 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

New York State Senator Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn)wanted to show how easy it was to buy “high-capacity gun clips” in New York State. He visited two gun stores in the Albany area where they were sold. However, these were pre-ban AK-47 magazines which are legal to sell in New York State. So, in his “undercover” investigation, he buys a legal product and based upon this he is proposing to ban all standard capacity magazines.

Somehow his logic just fails me.

Adams has introduced S. 3573-2011 for the purposes of making “all large capacity ammunition feeding devices, regardless of date of manufacture, subject to the provisions of the penal law.” In other words, outlawing any magazines with a capacity of greater than 10. This is not the only gun control measure he has introduced this session of the New York State Senate. He has also introduced a bill requiring everyone outside of New York City to register their firearms on an annual basis with their respective county clerks.

Cam Edwards does a fine job of deconstructing Senator Adams and his shocking undercover video.

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Dude! I’m There

March 8, 2011 by 1 Comment

The good folks at Luckygunner.com ammo in Knoxville, TN are sponsoring the 2011 Memorial Day Blogger Shoot featuring Class III firearms and free ammo!

And training from Tom Givens of RangeMaster Training of Memphis.

Did I mention free ammo?

You can pre-register at the link above.

The event is open to firearm industry bloggers, podcasters, and other (online) media folks (online magazines, press releases, radio shows, forums, informational websites, etc).

Unless there is another rockslide in the Pigeon River Gorge on I-40, I am going to be there. And even then, I know enough backroads in WNC and E. TN to get around a few tons of rock.

H/T Sebastian

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White House – No Comment On Project Gunwalker

March 7, 2011 by

If the Obama White House thought they could avoid questions on Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker) and the ensuing scandal, they were sadly mistaken. Chip Reid of CBS News was the first to ask the question of the new White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. You can see video of the exchange here.

Q. CBS has been pursuing a story over the past week or so about gunrunning in Mexico — hundreds and hundreds of guns going into Mexico, with the knowledge of ATF. They had hoped it would lead them to the big fish, but it didn’t work. And there are two developments on that today. There’s an IG investigation been ordered at Justice. And Mexico has asked for whatever details the United States can provide on that. Do you have any comment on the story and on these developments today?

MR. CARNEY: Chip, I don’t. Obviously, as the President pointed out when he spoke here with President Calderón, we take the issue of the flow of guns south very seriously, as we do the issue of the flow of drugs north. And — but beyond that I don’t have any comments.

Q Is he aware of the specific allegation that —

MR. CARNEY: I don’t know.

Q — hundreds of guns went into Mexico with the knowledge of ATF?

MR. CARNEY: I don’t know, Chip.

If Carney thought that put the matter to rest, he was mistaken because a few minutes later he got another question on that same issue from Peter Maer of CBS News Radio.

Q. Following up on Chip’s questions about this gun strategy that the ATF was running — given the President’s strong statements about the southward flow of weapons when the Mexican President was here, would he condone an ATF plan that uses — in effect, uses guns as bait?

MR. CARNEY: Peter, I just don’t have anything for you on that except to point you to his statements about his concerns, our concerns about the flow of guns south. But this — for other questions about this story I would point you to the Department of Justice.

Q Just to confirm, you don’t have anything because you weren’t aware of this or —

MR. CARNEY: I just don’t have anything to add to what I just said.

Q Can you take that question and perhaps be able to elaborate on it for us in terms of —

MR. CARNEY: If there’s something I can find out about it, I will. But asking me a hypothetical about whether the President would or would not —

Q Oh, it’s not hypothetical. The program exists, or existed.

MR. CARNEY: I’ll see what I can find out about it.

UPDATE: The White House posts video of their press briefings on YouTube. I was able to excerpt the second round of questions on ATF and gunrunning.

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Win!

March 7, 2011 by

In an alternative version of March Madness, Aaron Spuler has the monthly gun contests up on his blog. You can see the contests here.

Among the free guns are a number of 1911’s and a semi-auto “Tommy Gun”.

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2011 Gun Rights Policy Conference

March 7, 2011 by 2 Comments

Pre-registration for the 2011 Gun Rights Policy Conference put on by the Second Amendment Foundation is now open. The conference will be held September 23-25 in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency Airport hotel. You can go here to pre-register.

The Second Amendment Foundation puts on this conference annually and it is free. Let me repeat that – the cost to attend is free – and you come home with literally a pile of Second Amendment books, journals, and other resources.

Past GRPCs have outlined victory plans and made public the latest firearms trends. They allow you a first-hand chance to hear movement leaders–and make your voice heard.

This year we’ll take a look at critical issues such as: city gun bans, youth violence, “smart” guns, concealed carry, federal legislation, legal actions, gun show regulation, state and local activity. We’ll also preview the upcoming court cases and revisit the U.S. Supreme Court Heller Decision.

The full roster of GRPC 2011 speakers has not yet been set. Past speakers include: Alan M. Gottlieb, Joseph P. Tartaro, U.S. Representatives Ron Paul, Chris Cannon, Bob Barr & Jean Schmidt, Robert Levy, Esq. & Alan Gura, Esq., counsel for the Heller case, Wayne LaPierre, John Lott, G. Gordon Liddy, Michael Reagan, Larry Elder, Ken Hamblin, and many others.

Alan Gottlieb enjoys bringing the conference to the belly of the beast so to speak. Last year’s conference was in San Francisco which I had the pleasure to attend. You can see my reports on it here, here, and here.

In San Francisco, the local MTA had a policy prohibiting the showing of firearms in ads on their buses and bus stop enclosures. The SAF took this as a challenge and put up posters announcing the conference which featured an Oleg Volk photo with a woman and a shotgun. Frankly, I can’t wait to see what they do this year!

So if you live in the region or if you can get a plane ticket for a reasonable price, I’d certainly encourage you to attend. I met a lot of great people at the 2010 GRPC and I really hope to get back to the one in Chicago. I understand that a whole contingent will be coming from the Gun Rights Radio Network and that the plaintiffs in McDonald v. Chicago will be honored at this event.

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Another Nation Heard From

March 7, 2011 by 1 Comment

So far the government of Mexico has been fairly quiet on Project Gunrunner aka “Fast and Furious” aka Project Gunwalker. While the Mexicans have blamed American guns on a regular basis for their problems as they descend into a narco-terrorist state, they have not said much of anything on Project Gunwalker.

They have now.

First reported on a Mexican website yesterday and subsequently by CBS and the BBC, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has made a formal request to the United States for the details of the “Fast and Furious” operation. The BBC says about the request:

In a statement, the Mexican foreign ministry said it would follow US Justice Department and ATF investigations into the operation with “special interest”.

“The aim of the governments of Mexico and the US is to stop the trafficking of arms on the basis of shared responsibility, and both sides are working to strengthen bilateral cooperation on this issue,” it said.

As has often been noted and CBS’s Sharyl Attkisson has reemphasized:

ATF sources tell CBS News that Mexican officials were intentionally kept in the dark for fear that they would jeopardize the controversial program. The strategy drew fierce criticism from federal agents ordered to employ it, including John Dodson. Dodson told CBS News that that letting guns “walk” endangered too many lives.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) posted a notice of their request on the SRE website in Spanish. If someone with better Spanish than me would like to translate it, I’ll be glad to post their translation. That said, even though I last took high school Spanish over 35 years ago I can make out the gist of it.

Posición ante reportes sobre la operación denominada “Fast and Furious” de la ATF

Sábado 05 de Marzo | Comunicado # 065 | México, D.F.

En relación con la información dada a conocer por diversos medios de comunicación estadounidenses y mexicanos sobre una operación denominada Fast and Furious conducida por la Oficina de control de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas y Explosivos (ATF) del Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos, la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores manifiesta lo siguiente:

1. Se ha procedido a solicitar información detallada sobre este asunto a las autoridades estadounidenses.

2. El Gobierno de México seguirá con especial interés las investigaciones anunciadas tanto por ATF como por el Departamento de Justicia.

3. El objetivo de los gobiernos de México y de Estados Unidos es detener el tráfico de armas sobre la base del principio de responsabilidad compartida y ambos trabajan para fortalecer la cooperación bilateral en la materia. Dicha prioridad fue ratificada por los Presidentes de México y Estados Unidos el pasado 3 de marzo, en Washington.

Checking the State Department’s website, there is no word yet of any reaction to the Mexican Government’s request. That said, Mike Vanderboegh reports a rumor of a meeting today at the State Department to discuss the issue. I wonder if any undiplomatic language will be used at the rumored meeting.

UPDATE: The Washington Post is reporting this evening (March 8th) that legislators from all three major Mexican political parties are calling for a joint Mexican-US working group to investigate ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious. Moreover,

Congressman Humberto Trevino estimated Tuesday that 150 shooting injuries or deaths have been linked to guns that were allowed to proceed into Mexico as part of a U.S. effort to build cases against traffickers.

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Grassley – “Like A Skunk At A Picnic”

March 6, 2011 by 1 Comment

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released a statement Friday on Project Gunwalker and on ATF Agent John Dodson’s on-camera interview with Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News.

ATF Whistleblowers Question SW Border Strategy

Last night, for the first time an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) spoke publicly with CBS News and The Center for Public Integrity about his concerns that the agency he works for had knowingly let guns be purchased by straw buyers.

This whistleblower, and more than a dozen more ATF agents, tell me that their supervisors kept them from stopping gun traffickers with the normal techniques that had been successfully used for years. They were ordered to only watch and continue gathering information on traffickers instead of arresting them as soon as they could. In the meantime, the guns were allowed to fall into the hands of the bad guys, while the agents knew there was wrongdoing going on.

Many of the guns have subsequently been found in firefights along the border, including one firefight where Customs and Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed on December 14, 2010.

The ATF agents who spoke with my staff warned their supervisors that this kind of risky operation would get someone killed. Tragically, they were right. The ATF clearly had plenty of information on the bad guys. The problem was that they didn’t act on the information they had.

I’ve been hounding the Justice Department and the ATF to come forward and be accountable to the American people and the family of Agent Terry. There remain unanswered questions about what transpired at the ATF and the Department of Justice during this time period and the policy that allows guns to walk. Up to this point, I’ve gotten nothing but stonewalling to my five letters. Federal officials have given both me and the Terry family the cold shoulder. And, to make matters worse, they’ve made this whistleblower feel like a skunk at a picnic for simply telling the truth.

My oversight efforts won’t stop. I’ll be looking for answers to my inquiries and working to get to the bottom of how the ATF could let guns be purchased by known straw dealers and then transferred across the border. That practice should have ended long before the death of a federal agent finally forced it into the light of day.