Month: August 2011

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St. Clair County Board – We Know More About Air Safety Than FAA

August 12, 2011 by 5 Comments

Kurt Hofmann, the St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner, ran a story on Monday about how the St. Clair County (Illinois) Board thinks a local gun club’s range is a threat to the safety of aircraft at Scott Air Force Base and MidAmerica-St. Louis Airport. They are even prepared to use eminent domain to take over the club so as to close it down. They passed a resolution on July 25th by a 24-2 to authorize county officials to negotiate a sale or,  failing that, to use eminent domain to seize the property.

Mark Kern, the County Board chairman, said that experts have stated the gun club poses a threat to low-flying aircraft.

If board members want Scott to remain open, “this is the appropriate action to take,” Kern said. “But it’s important to protect Scott Air Force Base and those flying above the gun club.”

Given that airport safety is a major concern of the Federal Aviation Administration, you might think that they would be in agreement with St. Clair County that a rifle range is a threat to air safety. However, you would be wrong. Regarding the Caseyville Rifle and Pistol Club range, they said:

Al Richardson, an official with the FAA’s Des Plaines office, concluded in a May 2008 letter the gun club had complied with agency rules regarding aircraft safety.

Richardson wrote that his agency had made a “determination with respect to the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace by aircraft and with respect to the safety of persons and property on the ground.”

As Kurt noted in his story Monday, St. Clair County Attorney Charles Swartout argued in court that the letter from the FAA was “hearsay” and “irrelevant” because Scott AFB is under the control of the military.

Apparently, we are to believe that the FAA only knows about civilian aircraft safety. It does seem rather puzzling that a shooting range would pose more risk to military aircraft than to civilian ones–wouldn’t it be the other way around?

Mr. Swartout’s argument additionally ignores the fact that MidAmerica-St. Louis Airport, a joint use facility, is actually closer to the gun range than Scott AFB. MidAmerica, to be quite frank, is a monument to pork barrel politics. Costing approximately $300 million to build, it doesn’t have any regularly scheduled air service since Allegiant Air pulled out in January 2011. As to cargo use, there is only one flight a week from MidAmerica to Colombia to bring in imported flowers.

As an aside, I am quite familiar with both Scott and MidAmerica as they are only a few miles away from my mother-in-law’s house in O’Fallon.

 Let’s take a look at the club’s location and facilities. Below is a aerial photo of the range in relationship to both Scott and MidAmerica. The closest part of Scott’s main runway is 1.3 miles away. From MidAmerica, it is a mile to the Caseyville Rifle and Pistol Club’s ranges. You will also notice that there are significant wooded areas in between the range and both runways.

Now that we’ve seen the location in relationship to Scott and MidAmerica, let’s take a look at the ranges. Since the club only moved to this location in 2007, you would expect state of the art design features and the folks at Caseyville don’t disappoint. They have 200, 100, and 50- yard rifle ranges plus two pistol ranges with both berms and baffles to prevent stray bullets from escaping.

Notice the baffles and containment area below them.

Each range has side berms, a high downrange berm, and a series of baffles.
Restricted to bird shot only plus it has berms.

I would give an arm and a leg to have a range this nice within 50 miles of my home. It is well laid out, has nice facilities, and has kept the safety of the shooter and the public in mind. Given this, it is no wonder that officials with the FAA had no safety issue or problems with the range or its location.

Despite all of this, it seems to be the intention of the St. Clair County Board to use what they consider their bottomless pit of taxpayer funds to continue their fight to get the club’s land. Even the Belleville News-Democrat which ran a nonsensical editorial urging the club to sell out so as to save the taxpayers’ more money, recognizes that the goal of the county is to use their larger resources to outlast club in court. The county has already lost twice in court and now has headed to court for the third time.

It would be interesting to know the true agenda of County Board Chairman Mark Kern and the rest of the Democratic majority board. Are they really interested in safety or do they have a well-heeled political contributor who wants this land for his or her own development purposes? Reading the comments in response to the editorial urging the club to sell it seems the general consensus is the latter.

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It’s Never Enough For Them

August 11, 2011 by 2 Comments

Gun control advocates are continually calling for “commonsense” gun laws. However, even if one is in full compliance with the laws they have pushed, it is never enough.

A case in point comes from the island of Tasmania in Australia.

A homeowner in Blackmans Bay had three rifles and a shotgun stolen from his home in a daytime robbery. Police Inspector Peter Cerritelli said that the owner had properly secured all of the firearms in a locked safe and that he was licensed in accordance with the law. However, these precautions as well as the lawful ownership were not enough for the National Coalition for Gun Control.

However, National Coalition for Gun Control co-chairman Roland Browne said yesterday that the one-size-fits-all approach to storage was insufficient.

“There’s always a problem with the storage of large numbers of guns in residential houses,” Mr Browne said.

“They become targets for thieves.

“The Government and police are going to have some work to do to mark out some better standards for firearms storage given that compliance with the law isn’t sufficient, in every case, to stop theft.

“It’s not easy, presumably, to go into a house and walk out with a series of firearms.

“It must have been planned and carefully executed.”

Reading Mr. Browne’s statement I get the feeling that he won’t be satisfied until all private firearms are either stored in a government-run armory or, more likely, banned outright.

Like I said earlier, it is never enough for them. A more accurate name for his group would be the National Coalition for Gun Prohibition.

 H/T Josh

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CCRKBA On The British Riots And Need To Keep And Bear Arms

August 10, 2011 by

Brit Riots Show Need for Right to Keep and Bear Arms

BELLEVUE, WA – Widespread rioting, arson and looting across London clearly demonstrates the need in any civilized society for the right to personal protection and the tools to make it possible, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

Rioting that reportedly began over the police shooting of a man over the weekend has now exploded into anarchy, leaving British citizens stunned and fearful. People have been forced to flee from their homes. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb noted that in Great Britain, where firearms are so strictly regulated that relatively few people own them legally, and self-defense is treated like a criminal offense, citizens are literally at the mercy of the mob.

“One wonders if the thugs now terrorizing British citizens would behave better if they thought their next intended victim might be armed and willing to fight back,” Gottlieb observed. “How would these rioters fare if citizens were able to defend their homes and businesses?”

Gottlieb, co-author of America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age, noted that the riots suggest far more is at work than anger over a shooting.

“The Second Amendment has provided American citizens with the means, and the tools, to protect themselves, their families and their property,” he observed. “Rather than flee from their homes as is now happening in some London neighborhoods, people should be able to defend what is theirs rather than surrender the streets to a mob.

“Evidently,” Gottlieb added, “Americans understand that. According to data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, people in this country – despite the economy – are buying increasing numbers of firearms. There was an 8.3 percent rise in the number of background checks with the National Instant Check System in July over the same month last year. This has been going on now for 14 straight months, according to the data.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent citizens of London,” he concluded. “Anarchy is always easier when people lack the means to protect their homes and neighborhoods.”

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An Unarmed Populace Will Find A Way To Defend Themselves

August 10, 2011 by 4 Comments

British laws virtually outlaw armed self defense with a firearm. Not only are their firearm restrictions draconian but armed self defense is quite often prosecuted as was the case of British farmer Tony Martin. Mr. Martin served almost four years for defending himself in his own home from intruders with his shotgun.

Riots which began on Saturday night and continue today have left one man dead, many homeless, and innumerable shops, pubs, and other business establishments looted and destroyed. As Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, has commented, ” Unlike L.A., there are no Korean shopkeepers with AR-15s to help contain the looting.”

With the police response under great criticism and politicians being heckled over their inability to stop the thugs, looters, and other miscreants, people are starting to take matters into their own hands with what is available.

In the sports and leisure section of Amazon’s UK site, the biggest percentage movers for the past 24 hours have been “aluminium” baseball bats. The Rucanor Aluminium Baseball Bat, Silver – 60 cm, has shown an 52,211% rise in sales. Previously, it was 8,893 on the list and now is at number 17. The number two bat is now sold out and it is unknown when it be back in stock. I wouldn’t be surprised if old cricket bats and field hockey sticks stuffed in the backs of closets or buried behind years of Christmas decorations in the basement are not suddenly being remembered and located.

Some shopkeepers are saying enough is enough especially those of Turkish and Kurdish extraction. In the Kingsland Road and Stoke Newington sections of London, the knives used to cut the meat for doner kebabs have been put to use.

Across the road, I ask another shopkeeper if what I’d heard is true, that the Turkish men in Kingsland Road and Stoke Newington were arming themselves to protect their shops, to protect their own. “Is true. Police no use, government too soft.” He frowns: “So they had knives.”

Turkish and Asian shopkeepers in the Dalston area were determined to protect their shops.

Some were seen carrying tools to protect themselves and their businesses, as police officers were scarce in the area late on Monday night.

When suspected looters were seen in the area, the shopkeepers and their families ran shouting after them up the main road, Kingsland High Street.

Jerry Keshin, who runs Jerry’s Food and Wine on Stoke Newington Road, said: “I shut early because I heard they were coming. I went down to Hoxton to get my boys and we drove back up and saw a group of about 10 rioters who were on their way into our area. We chased them into one of the estates and had it out.

“Then we came back to the corner of Shacklewell Lane to keep the area safe. A load more of them came through at about 11.40 but the whole community was out to chase them away.

His friend Aykut Boyraz said: “The community is close and we all know each other. We’re not going to have any riots around here. It doesn’t matter if you’re Turkish, if you live round here we’ll defend you.”

It is interesting that those most likely to protect their shops and livelihood are from the immigrant population. I guess they haven’t gotten used to living on the dole yet.

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ReasonTV On The Debate Over Open Carry In California

August 9, 2011 by 4 Comments

ReasonTV today released an excellent video on the debate over unloaded open carry in California. It features Assemblyman Anthony Portatino (D-Pasadena) who wants to outlaw it, activist Sam Wolank who argues cogently for it, and law professor and blogger Eugene Volokh who serves to give some of the background on the banning of open carry from the 19th century.

Interesting enough, loaded open carry was legal in California until 1967. That was when then-Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Law which outlawed it. The outlawing of loaded open carry was in response to armed Black Panthers patrolling black neighborhoods while armed. With all due respect to the late Ronald Reagan, this was not his finest hour.

The renewed impetus for this law was the attempted murder of Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ). However, as Professor Volokh notes, it doesn’t make good sense to craft comprehensive legislation that deals with rare situations. Obviously, this has not stopped bills like AB144 and its proponent Assemblyman Portatino.

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The History Channel’s Top Shot Season 3 Premieres Tomorrow

August 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

Season 3 of Top Shot premieres Tuesday night at 10pm Eastern on the History Channel. According to a release sent out by their publicist, there are 14 men and 2 women competing for the $100,000 top prize. They will also be firing some of the largest and most powerful weaponry to date:

Contestants will employ some of the biggest munitions ever featured on TOP SHOT, including the Gatling gun, the Hotchkiss mountain gun and the CornerShot. In addition, they must endure extreme physical tests to stay in the game. High-speed HD cameras capture the skillful execution of each test in extreme slow-motion.

The premiere of season three begins with a gauntlet of extreme challenges. 16 marksmen immediately pair off and duel with one of the world’s biggest handguns. Teams are then divided into winners and losers before facing off in a surprise military challenge. In the elimination challenge, two competitors get the ride of their life on a horse-drawn stagecoach as they shoot to stay in the competition.

Cam Edwards of NRA News interviewed Colby Donaldson, the host of Top Shot, about what to expect in this season.

While I don’t like everything on the History Channel, it is good to see them evolve beyond the Hitler Channel. Now if they would just do something about those UFO shows…