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Month: May 2011
Hissy Fit Warning
A certain director of communications for a certain group of gun prohibitionists is about to have a hissy fit. He just doesn’t know it yet.
According to a summary of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.”
Thanks to a friend of Thirdpower at Days of our Trailers, we have a powerful parody of a poster put out by the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Go here to view it. I must admit I had a little hand in this project but credit must go to Thirdpower and his graphics artist friend for taking some ideas and creating a masterpiece.
Those guys rock!
Saying No To Self-Protection
Saying no to self-protection seems to the modus operandi within corporate America. I put this down to risk managers making the calculation that it is cheaper to pay a death claim on a murdered employee than it to defend a lawsuit filed by a personal injury lawyer on behalf of a criminal.
The latest case involves the Walgreen’s chain of pharmacies.
Jeremy Hoven was the night shift pharmacist at the Benton Township, Michigan Walgreens. I say “was” because he was fired by Walgreens after he stopped an armed robbery by firing his 3-4 shots from his revolver at the criminals. Mr. Hoven holds a Michigan concealed carry permit and was one of four employees in the store when the attempted robbery took place. According to his interview with the Herald-Palladium of Southwest Michigan,
Hoven said his first hint something was wrong was seeing a manager run into a storeroom on the building’s west side. Seconds later he saw a man brandishing a handgun, guiding the second manager around the shelf at the northeast corner.
“The first thing I tried to do was dial 911 but I couldn’t get it done,” Hoven said. “Within seconds he was over the counter. And I’m looking at the wrong end of a 9-millimeter (gun). He was holding it gangster-style” – sideways.
The robber had jumped over the counter, leaving the manager in the aisle. The robber came within a few feet of Hoven.
Hoven said the only thing behind the attacker was a cinder block wall. Thus he pulled his gun and fired three or four shots.
“I was creating a safe zone for myself,” he said.
The attacker tried to fire back, but his gun either malfunctioned or the safety had been left on, Hoven said.
Mr. Hoven says he would do it again because he knows he did the right thing in protecting himself and his fellow employees.
As to Walgreens, on this past Monday they informed him by e-mail that he was fired. Frankly, I do not plan to give my patronage to a store that (a) cares so little about their employees’ safety and (b) has so little class that they fire the guy by e-mail.
H/T Brian
Moore v. Madigan – More Plaintiffs Added To Complaint
The Second Amendment Foundation’s case challenging the state of Illinois’ complete prohibition on the carrying of a handgun for self-defense just added one organization plaintiff, IllinoisCarry, and two individual plaintiffs, Peggy Fechter of Carmi and Jon Maier of Bloomington.
Below is their release on the amended complaint. I am working on a post comparing the SAF and NRA lawsuits against Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the state of Illinois. I hope to have it up sometime this weekend.
SAF ADDS PLAINTIFFS IN ILLINOIS FIREARMS LAW CHALLENGE
For Immediate Release: 5/20/2011
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation announced this morning that it has filed an amended complaint in federal district court in Illinois, challenging the state’s statutory prohibitions on the carrying of handguns for personal protection.Joining SAF in this amended complaint are Illinois Carry, a volunteer organization founded to educate the public about Illinois gun laws, and two more private citizens, Peggy Fechter of Carmi, and Jon Maier, a resident of Bloomington. Michael Moore of Champaign and Charles Hooks of Percy remain active plaintiffs.
Defendants in the lawsuit are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Police Superintendent Hiram Grau. SAF is represented by attorneys David Jensen of New York and David Sigale of Glen Ellyn. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield.
The lawsuit alleges that Illinois statutes that completely ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense deprive the plaintiffs of civil rights under color of law, making them “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.”
SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb welcomed the additional plaintiffs, noting, “After the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, we were overwhelmed by requests to participate. We want to assure everyone who contacted us that they do not need to be actual plaintiffs in order to benefit from a victory.
“SAF truly appreciates the wave of enthusiasm and support from gun owners all over Illinois,” he continued. “But right now we need to move forward and if people would like to support our lawsuit with a tax-exempt contribution to SAF, we would welcome that. We simply cannot take on more plaintiffs at this point and further delay the process.”
Airline Merger News For Gunnies
The Wall Street Journal had a story yesterday on the issues that United Airlines and Continental Airlines are dealing with as they complete their merger. Important issues such as the color of baggage tags and how many bowling balls that may be checked are part of the discussion.
However, for gunnies who travel with guns or trophy hunters with an elk/moose/caribou rack, there was some important news.
Hunters’ trophy antlers now will face United’s size restrictions of 120 linear inches for cargo carriage. Continental had no limits. And passengers can check five guns—Continental’s rule—instead of United’s two-gun maximum. The company says there is no industry standard or compelling reason to justify United’s limit.
Given Michael Bane’s rant in his latest podcast about United Airlines and the way their Phoenix counter handles those traveling with firearms, I’m sure that he’ll welcome the news that he now can have five guns when he travels. Whether or not it will cure the problems with the anti-gun sentiment at the United counter in Phoenix remains to be seen.
NSSF Reports In-Fighting Between Lead Ammo Foes
The NSSF Blog had this report this morning about in-fighting between the Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy. Both of these groups have tried to get the EPA to outlaw lead-based ammunition as well as the use of lead in fishing tackle.
Infighting Begins Amongst Traditional Ammunition Foes
May 20, 2011 By Larry Keane View Comments
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A recent article in Audubon Magazine (“Bad Shot”) notes a budding feud between the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) concerning the issue of traditional ammunition. In the article, Michael Fry, director of conservation advocacy at ABC, derides the CBD for petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the manufacture and sale of traditional ammunition, shot and fishing tackle. Fry, concerned that the CBD was going too far in trying to ban all traditional ammunition, noted “It was not helpful to have the center involved.”This infighting, demonstrating that the CBD is considered extremist even amongst its allied groups, could not have come at a worse time for anti-ammunition special interests. Last week, 35 members of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), a coalition of the nation’s leading conservation groups, joined with NSSF in encouraging federal lawmakers to become co-sponsors of the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act, legislation that will clarify that Congress has not given the EPA authority to regulate ammunition and its components under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The CBD has yet to respond to the ABC attack.
Learn more about the fight to protect traditional ammunition here: http://www.nssf.org/factsheets/PDF/TraditionalAmmo.pdf
The National Shooting Sports Foundation also has a letter generator that will send either an email or paper letter to your Senators and local Congressman urging their support of the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act. As we saw with the ATF and the multi-rifle reporting requirement, numbers – not quality – count. You can access the letter generator here. It also allows you to modify the message if you so wish which is what I did.
Understand Mindset
An interview with Charlie McNeese, Rangemaster at Gunsite.
Report On NC Hearings On Omnibus Bill Amending Gun Laws
The North Carolina House Judiciary C Committee held hearings yesterday on HB 640 – Amend Gun Laws. This is an omnibus bill that amends a number of existing gun laws in North Carolina and improves gun rights. You can read more about the details of the bill at Sean’s blog here.
Grass Roots North Carolina released this summation of the hearings by e-mail tonight. I’d say they were pleased with how they went. GRNC President Paul Valone was one of those who testified on the bill at the hearings.
HB 650
On Wednesday, the NC House Judiciary C Committee took on House Bill 650, “Amend Various Gun Laws.” Thanks to the efforts of Sponsors Mark Hilton (R-Catawba, GRNC ****), Steven LaRoque (R-Greene, Lenoir, Wayne, ****), George Cleveland (R-Onslow, ****) and Kelly Hastings (R- Cleveland, Gaston, ****), plus the leadership of Rules Chairman Tim Moore (R- Cleveland, ****) and Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Meckleburg, ****), the bill is likely to receive a committee vote next Wednesday. Gun rights supporters should immediately e-mail these courageous legislators with thanks.HB 650 is a huge and aggressive bill, meaning it will be difficult to pass. But if passed, it will go far toward reversing the creeping encroachment on gun owners’ rights perpetuated in previous sessions of the legislature, including (but not limited to):
- Castle Doctrine (yet another vehicle for popular Castle Doctrine is now moving);
- Reducing penalties for carrying firearms on “educational property,” including a protection against accidentally becoming a criminal by requiring that offenders “knowingly” brought the gun onto educational property;
- Enabling concealed carry at events for which admission is charged;
- Reducing penalties for a host of minor (often inadvertent) gun violations;
- Adding protections for gun owners whose guns are confiscated pursuant to domestic protective orders;
- Improves concealed handgun reciprocity to straight recognition of out-of-state permits;
- Removes provisions for concealed handgun applicants under which sheriffs are conducting intrusive investigations of medical history; and
- Enabling employees to keep guns in locked vehicles at places of employment.
One Year Later
This blog started one year ago today. That was one-thousand eighty posts ago.
Alan Gura hadn’t yet won the McDonald case. All the other follow-on cases were still in the conceptual stage waiting for the Supreme Court to incorporate the Second Amendment to the states.
The Republicans didn’t control the House of Representatives and Nancy Pelosi was still Speaker of the House. Gun control legislation was on the drawing boards but wasn’t moving. Neither, however, was gun rights legislation. The one bright spot was that concealed carry in National Parks had been passed and had just gone into effect in February
Likewise in North Carolina, the Republicans were the minority party in both houses of the General Assembly. Governor Beverly Perdue wasn’t thinking twice about using Chapter 36A of the North Carolina General Statutes when she declared states of emergency and in the process imposed a temporary prohibition on the possession of firearms and ammunition off one’s own premises.
Andrew Traver hadn’t yet been nominated to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Project Gunwalker in its many manifestations was in operation but we didn’t yet know about it.
So much has happened since last May.
Alan Gura won McDonald et al v. Chicago et al. Numerous follow-on cases have been filed in courts across the country.
John Boehner is the Speaker of the House and the Democrats no longer have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. Gun control legislation is stalled and gun rights legislation – especially national right-to-carry reciprocity – seems to be moving ahead.
In North Carolina, the Republicans now control both houses of the General Assembly. This is the first time this has happened since 1870 and Civil War Reconstruction. Gun rights bills are moving forward and the nonsensical requirement for a permit to buy a crossbow is now a thing of the past. Governor Perdue now uses Chapter 166A of the General Statues when she declares a state of emergency as it doesn’t trigger the the prohibition on firearms for which she has been roundly criticized.
Thanks to the efforts of Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea along with CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson we now know about Operation Fast and Furious. It is being investigated in both the House and Senate. The leadership of the Phoenix Field Division of ATF has been replaced as of this week.
Andrew Traver’s nomination to head ATF is in limbo as a result of the exposure of his ties with gun control groups and because of the controversy over Project Gunwalker.
It has been a very interesting year. I have learned a lot, met a lot of great people both online and in person, and seen this blog grow exponentially.
In the entire month of May 2010, I had 93 visitors to this blog. To put that into perspective, so far today I have had 991 visitors. I still have a very hard time comprehending that. I have an even harder time comprehending that this blog has been nominated for the LuckyGunner Gunnie Awards in both the Best Blog – Politics and Best Blog – Law categories.
I am so very grateful for each and every visitor to this blog.
There have been many people who have helped me along by posting links to this blog, by sending me links to information of interest, by giving me heads-up on cases, by willing to be interviewed, etc. I am thankful for your support. However, the one person who must be recognized above all others is the Complementary Spouse. Without her love, support, and encouragement (as well as proof-reading skills), this blog would not be what it is today. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank her.