by Spring has sprung!
Or maybe not.
Those are the Great Balsam Mountains in the background. They, along with the Plott Balsams, are connecting mountain ranges between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains.
North Carolina
A Sad Day For North Carolinians – Amazon To Collect NC Sales Tax
It is a sad day for North Carolina consumers who patronize Amazon.com. On Monday, Amazon.com announced that they will be collecting sales tax for purchases in North Carolina effective February 1st.
Amazon.com will begin collecting sales tax in North Carolina beginning Feb. 1, a company official confirmed Monday.
The move will make North Carolina the 20th state in which the online retailer collects sales tax, according to Amazon’s website. It’s unclear why Amazon decided to make the change now. A spokesman didn’t respond to questions about the timing of the move and whether the Seattle-based company would begin collecting sales tax in other states besides North Carolina on Feb. 1.
The North Carolina Department of Revenue was slapped down in 2010 when they tried to force Amazon.com to give them the names of customers residing in North Carolina. This demand was found to violate the First Amendment.
The General Assembly passed a law in 2009 that said if a company had an affiliate program it has “nexus” in the state. When a company has nexus or a physical connection to a state, it can be forced to collect sales tax for that state according to the Supreme Court in Quill v. North Dakota. In response, Amazon.com closed their Amazon Associates program for North Carolinians and it remains closed to this day.
I did speak with a customer service representative with the Amazon Affiliates Program this morning. She said she didn’t know when the Affiliates Program would be reopened to North Carolinians. I probably will apply when it does reopen.
To summarize, we in North Carolina are now going to have to pay sales tax on our Amazon purchases but we might get the opportunity to be Amazon Affiliates again. Frankly, I’d trade the Affiliates Program for not having to pay sales tax anyday.
Target Shooting Means 4,460 Jobs And $459 Million For North Carolina
The National Shooting Sports Foundation just released a study analyzing the economic impact of target shooting in the United States in terms of jobs and money put into the economy. This economic impact is distinct from the influence of hunting. The study found that target shooting created 185,000 jobs and injected $23 billion into the US economy.
NSSF has broken this down by state and the impact on North Carolina’s economy is significant.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation has released a major new report about the importance of target shooting activities to the economies of North Carolina and the nation. NSSF is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.
The report, Target Shooting in America: Millions of Shooters, Billions of Dollars, was released today in conjunction with a press conference at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show), the largest trade show of its kind in the world and a showcase for the firearms and ammunition industry.
The report provides a first-ever look at U.S. target shooting-related expenditures. Also included are state-by-state statistics for the number of target shooters, retail sales, taxes and jobs. The target-shooting report complements the Hunting in America report released by NSSF and the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies in March 2013.
In North Carolina, target shooting-related spending contributed $459,373,038 to the state’s economy and supported 4,460 jobs.
Nationally, the money target shooters spent in 2011 resulted in $23 billion being added to the nation’s economy and supported more than 185,000 jobs.
“More people target shooting is good news for the industry, and it is equally good news for America’s economy,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti.
Retail sales related to target shooting account for nearly $10 billion, with rifle and handgun shooting being the leading contributors, followed by shotgun and muzzleloader shooting. California and Texas are the top two states ranked by retail sales.
Combining data from Target Shooting in America and Hunting in America shows that target shooters and hunters together poured more than $110 billion into the nation’s economy, fueling more than 866,000 jobs. “Communities and businesses of all sizes benefit from these activities,” said Sanetti.
Target shooters ($8.2 billion) and hunters ($8.4 billion) spend nearly equal amounts on equipment common to both pursuits, such as firearms, ammunition and accessories. Hunters spend more overall than target shooters when factors such as fuel, food, lodging and transportation are included.
“The Target Shooting in America and Hunting in America reports give us a more complete understanding of the economic importance of the shooting sports to America,” said Sanetti. “We’ve long known about the recreational benefits of these activities, and now we know how much they contribute to our country’s financial well-being.”
In Other Election News…
The big races yesterday were in New Jersey and Virginia. Others have covered those races and I won’t bother to rehash them other than to say than to say, despite the different party tags, neither winner is a friend of gun owners and their rights.
Despite all the media attention focused on Chris Christie, Terry McAuliffe, Ken Cuccinelli, and that Sandinista elected to replace Bloomberg, there were elections at the local level in many areas of the country.
Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned examines the results in Pennsylvania as they impact gun rights here.
In North Carolina, municipal elections are usually held in odd years and there were a number of elections across the state involving mayors belonging to Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors. According to their website, there are currently 15 misguided mayors in North Carolina who have lent their names to that effort. Out of those 15 cities, 12 had elections yesterday. The other three held their elections in 2011 and weren’t due until 2015. The incumbent mayors of Carrboro and Emerald Isle did not run for re-election.
This left 10 elections in which a MAIG member was up for re-election. The mayors of Carolina Shores, Chapel Hill, Creedmoor, East Spencer, and Hillsborough faced no opposition except for possible write-in candidates. Thus, only five of the 15 MAIG mayors faced any real opposition.
So how did they fare?
In the cities of Durham and Winston-Salem respectively, incumbent Mayors Bill Bell and Allen Joines cruised to re-election with 80% plus majorities. The Mayor of Oxford, Jackie Sargent, squeaked through in a 3-way election but with less than a majority.
That leaves the mayors of Greensboro and Morrisville who both lost. While gun control was not an issue in the overwhelming defeat of Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins by Nancy Barakat Vaughn, it most certainly was an issue in Morrisville.
Morrisville Mayor Jackie Holcombe was quite outspoken in her support for gun control.
Holcombe has drawn the ire of both the National Rifle Association and Grassroots NC for asking Gander Mountain to stop selling semi-automatic rifles at its local store and for joining the Mayors Against Illegal Guns lobbying group.
Holcombe also pushed and failed to find ways for Morrisville to evade state law regarding concealed carry in city parks, greenways, and athletic fields. As such, she incurred the wrath of Grass Roots North Carolina and its Political Victory Fund which actively worked for her opponent Councilman Mark Stohlman who was pro-gun.
I don’t know if Holcombe’s anti-gun stance made the difference but she lost to Stohlman in the 3-way race by almost 100 votes.
With the defeats in Greensboro and Morrisville, the number of Illegal Mayors has been reduced to 13. I don’t know where the new mayors of Carrboro and Emerald Isle stand on gun rights. It may be if we are lucky that they don’t want anything to do with that organization. We’ll just have to wait and see.
To sum up, gun owners came out a little better after the election than before. Since most of the mayors in North Carolina who belong to Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors represent small cities and towns, a concerted local lobbying effort might reduce the number even more. It’s worth a try.
Local Elections Matter, Too
It is not only state and national elections that matter when it comes to gun rights. Local elections matter, too.
In North Carolina, Grass Roots North Carolina-PVF is making recommendations in two local elections: a mayoral race in Morrisville and a council race in Winston-Salem.
Jackie Holcomb, mayor of Morrisville, is one of the few members of Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors in North Carolina. She is being opposed by Councilman Mark Stohlman who is pro-gun. Meanwhile in Winston-Salem, Councilman Jeff MacIntosh pushed restrictions on carry that were in conflict with state law. He is being opposed by Lida Hayes Calvert. The defeat of one or both of these officials would send a message to local politicians that opposing gun rights is not in their best political interests.
From GRNC-PVF:
Show Politicians Anti-Gun Efforts End in Short Careers
Morrisville
Currently led by Jackie Holcombe, the rabidly anti-gun member of Bloomberg’s MAIG group of gun control-supporting mayors (many of whom are criminals), Morrisville is in desperate need of political change.
We have already documented Holcombe’s outrageous efforts to violate state law and the rights of NC gun owners.
The good news is that Holcombe may be shown the door this Tuesday by pro-gun candidate Mark Stohlman http://www.citizensforstohlman.com/.
Morrisville GRNC members must get out the vote for this race and kick the anti-gunner to the curb.
Winston-Salem
The city’s Northwest Ward race provides another opportunity to shed an anti-gun politician: Jeff MacIntosh.
MacIntosh supported the City’s misguided resolution opposing expanded carry by state law. He is another freedom-attacker that needs to be shown the door.
Winston-Salem GRNC members of the Northwest Ward are encouraged to vote for Lida Hayes Calvert, a refreshing pro-freedom alternative. Please take your pro-gun friends along with you to the polls.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
- Vote Mark Stohlman for Morrisville Mayor. Encourage others to also.
- Vote Lida Hayes Calvert for Winston-Salem City Council, Northwest Ward. Bring others to the polls with you.
- Support GRNC-PVF!: We need your help in defending the Second Amendment! Go to: http://www.grnc.org/grnc-pvf/donate-to-grnc-pvf
Maybe October 1st Is An Auspicious Day After All
Today, October 1st, marks the start of a number of things – some good and some bad.
Of course, you’d have to be living in a cabin in Montana with no electricity, no water, and no radio/TV like the Unabomber not to know that the Federal government has “shut down” today. Obama is blaming the Republicans for being ideologues and the Republicans are blaming the Democrats and Obama for continually rejecting the budget.
Another thing that today marks is the beginning of ObamaCare. This is otherwise known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We still don’t quite know what is in even after they passed it despite what former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
October 1st is also the first day that we in North Carolina can carry concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol. Despite what the gun prohibitionists would have you believe, you still cannot legally drink and carry concealed. The same law will now also allow you to store your firearm in your locked vehicle if you hold a concealed carry permit while on educational property. This means that when I go to teach on Monday nights at the western-most state university in North Caroloina, so long as I store my pistol in my car vault, I’m good to go. The very thought has the Dookies upset and they are demanding that their administration proclaim to all the world that their university which has decided not to allow guns on campus is a gun-free zone.
On a final note, October 1st also marks the day that the Civilian Marksmanship’s Anniston (Alabama) is opening the CMP Custom Gun Shop which will work on most USGI rifles. This program is open to anyone who has qualified to purchase rifles from the CMP.
CMP will specialize in working on the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, 1903 and 1903A3 Springfield, the 1917 Enfield and the Krag. Other rifles like the Remington 40X, Mossberg 44 and H&R Model 12 can also be serviced if needed. CMP will NOT be working on shotguns, pistols, revolvers, M14/M1A, AR15 style rifles or other commercially-produced modern rifles.
The CMP Custom Shop can work on rifles that may have been purchased elsewhere as long as they were made by a USGI contractor. Some examples include: Springfield Armory (not Springfield Inc.), Harrington & Richardson, Winchester, International Harvester, Remington, Rock Island, Eddystone, Inland, Underwood, Rock-Ola, Quality Hardware, National Postal meter, Standard Products, IBM, Irwin-Pederson and Saginaw.
There are many NON-USGI copies of the M1 Garand, 1903 Springfield and especially the M1 Carbine that CMP will be unable to work on.
Maybe, despite all the nonsense going on and coming out of Washington, at least for those of us in the gun culture October 1st will prove to be quite an auspicious day after all.
Guess Who’s Coming To Town! (Updated)
The Tar Heel State will be “graced” tomorrow by a visit by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. They are supposed to be somewhere in the Research Triangle – Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill – area but they seem to be very coy about just where. I guess they don’t want what happened to them in North Dakota to happen to them here.
Grass Roots North Carolina would like to properly welcome them. They are offering a reward of a 100 rounds of either 5.56 or 7.62×39 ammo to the first person to locate them.
More from GRNC below:
Yet they hide their “Rights & Responsibilities” tour’s July 7 Raleigh stop from gun owners they purport to represent!Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and astronaut husband Mark Kelly, who fancy themselves the next Sarah and Jim Brady, having been touring the country to push for what they claim are just “background checks.” In truth, of course, the federal proposals they advocate would criminalize mundane behaviors such as gifting a gun to your mother and would further their hidden agenda to turn the computerized “National Instant Criminal Background Check System” (NICS) into a defacto gun registration system.
To divide and conquer gun owners, they claim to be shooters and have posed for photo ops of Giffords flinching off a few shots in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Gee, whiz, they say, they’re just gun owners like the rest of us and, of course, we all support “background checks,” right?
Gun control carpet-baggers in NC TOMORROW
Although their website lists Raleigh as a tour stop, it is the only stop for which the group refuses to provide a precise time and location, indicating they learned from our counter demonstration to greet “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” two weeks ago, in which GRNC’s counter demonstrators outnumbered MAIG’s participants.
Indeed, they are refusing to release the details to the public, leading one to ask: Why are they hiding from the gun owners they claim to represent? Last night, the Raleigh News & Observer said:
“Details have been withheld until Friday night, and even now the precise location has not been publicly disclosed. Reporters will be given information once they are confirmed.“All that’s known now is Giffords and Kelly will go shooting at a local sporting clay range in the morning, followed by a roundtable discussion with gun owners, and then a picnic with local members of their gun-control group, Americans for Responsible Solutions. The couple will meet with reporters after the roundtable.”
‘Where’s Gabby?’
Since Rep. Giffords and her hubby say they want a “roundtable discussion with gun owners,” GRNC would like to give it to them. So in a variation of that old child’s game, “Where’s Waldo?” GRNC now asks you to play “Where’s Gabby?”
In fact, we will give 100 rds of free 5.56mm or 7.62x39mm ammo to the first person who identifies the Raleigh-area “sporting clay range” and time for Gabby and Mark’s little get together. Please contact GRNC President Paul Valone immediately at: president@GRNC.org.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
Contact your club or range and ask if Gabby and spouse are scheduled to arrive. If so:
Ask those in charge to rescind their invitation, but not too soon: It would be most effective if it occurred AFTER arrival of the media – that will surely have received invitations.
Contact GRNC: Email GRNC President Paul Valone at President@GRNC.org with details.
Prepare to counter-protest: Please RSVP to Sean@SeanSorrentino.com with your name, mobile phone number, and the number of people you can bring. The probable time is 11:00 AM. Once we obtain details, we will call you.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact GRNC President Paul Valone with Gifford’s event information at: president@grnc.org.
UPDATE: It looks like the location has been confirmed.
Gabby Giffords Anti-Gun Roundtable
Gabby Giffords and husband plan anti-gun roundtable tomorrow morning at Pit Barbeque, 328 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC at 10 am…
GRNC has received word that Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly will be hosting an anti-gun roundtable tomorrow morning at Pit Barbeque in Raleigh. The event will take place some time around 11:00 am. We need as many pro-gun people as possible to begin showing up around 10:00 am. This will be an anti-freedom lovefest that the media will use to back their false claims that you want more gun control. It is up to you to stop this from happening. By your showing up and defending your viewpoint, you can steal their thunder and prevent their making a case for taking more of your rights.
BE THERE!
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!Be at:
Pit Barbeque, 328 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC at 10 am tomorrow, Sunday.
UPDATE II: It appears that you had to be one of the “select” to have met with Giffords and Kelly. According to WRAL, they met with 14 selected individuals who were members of their new gun control organization.
After a trip to a shooting range, they met at The Pit restaurant in downtown Raleigh with 14 hand-picked members of the organization, all of whom are gun owners, to lobby for expanded background checks.
“Gabby and I are both gun owners. I’ve served in the military for 25 years,” Kelly said. “We are strong supporters of the Second Amendment.”
It is hard for me to see just what they accomplished in their trip around the nation other than gathering a bit of media attention. IF they really wanted to draw major attention to themselves in North Carolina, Giffords and Kelly would have joined the disgruntled progressives in their so-called “Moral Mondays” outside the North Carolina General Assembly. Not that I’m trying to give them ideas but there is a major bill awaiting concurrence before the NC House that significantly advances gun rights.
The Raleigh News and Observer has more on the meeting.
Raleigh was the last stop on the couple’ seven-city Rights and Responsibilities tour. The ARS is hosting small roundtable discussions with gun owners, victims of violence and others. Giffords is expected to head to Asheville next for more rehabilitation therapy. She has aphasia as a result of her injuries and struggles to speak and walk.
“Hello, Raleigh. Stopping gun (violence) takes courage,” Giffords said, reading from a statement. “The courage to do what’s right. The courage of new ideas. I’ve seen great courage when my life was on the line. Now is the time to come together. Be responsible. Democrats, Republicans, everyone. We must never stop fighting. Fight, fight, fight people. Be courageous. The nation is counting on you. Thank you.”
Fourteen people were invited to be part of the roundtable discussion. About half said they were gun owners and 10 of the 14 knew someone who had been shot or killed by guns.
The best comments on the Giffords-Kelly visit comes from Sean Sorrention of An NC Gun Blog who was interviewed by the N&O reporter.
“(They’re) having a roundtable discussion with gun owners and somehow our invitation got lost in the mail,” said Sean Sorrentino, a representative for Grass Roots North Carolina.
Sorrentino said criminal-background checks violate citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
“It’s saying I have to prove my innocence before I can use my Second Amendment rights,” he said.
Now I’m going to say something that might be considered impolitic or not judicious but it has been at the back of my mind since Giffords has re-emerged in public. I don’t mean to be insensitive or “a meany” though I will be accused of it by the gun prohibitionists. The mention of Giffords coming to Asheville for more rehab makes me wonder just how capable she is of coherent and rational thought. Every time she speaks in public it is from a simple, pre-written statement or with the words being put into her mouth by her husband Mark. She always seems to have some sort of a “handler” at her side. It is as if she is a puppet or wind-up doll being used to promote someone else’s agenda which I find quite sad.
I don’t know enough about traumatic brain injuries to know whether having a bullet travel through the left side of your brain is worse than the concussive force of an IED explosion. One would have to assume it is much worse. I feel for Ms. Giffords for what she has been through. She didn’t ask for a madman who passed a NICS check to shoot her. That said, I have this nagging feeling that just won’t go away that she is just not capable of having an opinion on gun control one way or another and that she is being used by her husband and others. I also wonder if she wrote or could she even compose the comments she read at the event today.
UPDATE III: Links to video reports on the event are below. I would note that both Sean Sorrentino and Bill Foster represented the position of gun owners quite well. Moreover, it is interesting that the media is invited to the event but not any of the rest of us.
I’m Sure This Will Work Well….Or Not
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) is one of the few remaining Blue Dog Democrats in the House of Representatives. He was A-rated and endorsed by the NRA-PVF in the 2012 general election. He defeated State Senator David Rouzer by a mere 654 votes to win re-election. There is no way to tell for sure but the NRA-PVF endorsement might just have been the edge McIntyre needed to squeak by in his conservative district in southeast NC.
The picture below was tweeted by K. Meera Bhardwaj of Carrboro, North Carolina on Thursday. Her LinkedIn profile identifies her as the Regional Organizing Director for Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors. From my experience living in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, Carrboro is where those who are even too far Left for liberal Chapel Hill live. Things may have changed since I lived down in the Triangle but I doubt it.
The picture is captioned “2 gun owners, 4 parents, 2 kids, and 7 voters @DemandAction at @MikeMcIntyreNC’s office today!”
All I can say is that I hope Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors continues hiring organizers who have no clue about the area in which they are sent to work. Contrast this with the intimate knowledge that people like ISRA’s Richard Pearson and the NRA’s Todd Vandermyde brought to the battle for concealed carry in Illinois. Or, if we want to talk about North Carolina, that Grass Roots North Carolina and Paul Valone have brought to the battle for gun rights in this state.
It’s A Change Whose Time Has Come In NC
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission adopted a resolution on Friday in support of Sunday hunting on private lands with a firearm. It is currently permissible to do so with a bow. I think this is a change whose time has come.
From the release by the Wildlife Resources Commission:
RALEIGH,N.C. (March 15, 2013) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has adopted a resolution supporting a bill that would allow people to hunt on Sundays on private lands.
During the March 14 business meeting, the Commission adopted a resolution in support of Senate Bill 224, which would remove a prohibition against Sunday hunting on private lands with shotgun, rifle or pistol set out in N.C.G.S. 103-2.
The mission of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission includes conserving and managing wildlife resources and enhancing the state’s rich hunting heritage by providing opportunities for hunters to enjoy wildlife-associated recreation.
“Allowing Sunday hunting on private lands will provide additional hunting days and additional options for youth and adults whose school and employment responsibilities limit their hunting opportunities to weekends,” said Gordon Myers, executive director of the Wildlife Commission.
The prohibition against Sunday hunting serves no purpose with regard to conservation of wildlife resources and habitats. North Carolina residents who currently seek hunting opportunities in neighboring states that do allow Sunday hunting take substantial revenues elsewhere instead of keeping these dollars within North Carolina borders where they would generate tremendous economic benefits, particularly to rural areas and businesses.
In 2009, the Commission adopted regulations allowing hunting on Sundays on private lands with archery equipment. Since September 2010 North Carolinians have been hunting on Sundays on private lands with archery equipment without incident or conflict.
The Commission also adopted a motion Thursday directing Myers to work with the Legislature and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to find a solution for the potential loss of compensatory hunting days for those who hunt migratory waterfowl on public waters, should Senate Bill 224 become law.
Another change I’d like to see the Wildlife Resources Commission make is to allow shooting on Sunday at the Wayne E. Smith Shooting Range on the Cold Mountain Game Lands. Most people who could use the range work Monday through Friday and only have Saturday to use the range. The rationale is the same for this range as it is for Sunday hunting.
More Interested Teachers Than Spots In Free CCW Class
The Rowan County Wildlife Association thinks the way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. To help increase the number of good guys they offered a free NC Concealed Handgun Permit class for teachers on Saturday in the Salisbury, NC area. The good news is that they had a lot of interested teachers show up. The bad news is that they had to turn some away because they didn’t have enough room.
Some of the teachers told Eyewitness News they were taking the class to help keep their students safe.
“That’s why we are teachers, because we love the children we work with,” interim teacher Jordan Waller said.Waller joined dozens of other educators at the free concealed carry class in Salisbury.
She sat next to Susan Smith, a teacher’s assistant, who worries about her students who have special needs.
“Our children are not very mobile,” Smith said. “They would have a very hard time getting out of the way.”
Smith and Waller both support bills in the state Legislature that would allow teachers to carry weapons.
“If that’s what the world is coming to, I’d go along with it,” Waller said.
Of course as the report below makes clear, the gun prohibitionists at North Carolinians Against Gun Violence are aghast and resort to quoting junk research.