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Only If You Want To Look Like A Mexican Bandito

March 10, 2013 by

I received an ad in my email today from Botach for a shotgun bandoleer. Now shotgun bandoleers have been around for a long time. However, this bandoleer hold 123 shotgun shells!

Looking at that bandoleer filled with shotgun shells all I can think of are the old Westerns featuring Mexican banditos. I just don’t think something like that would be that practical. I also don’t want to think what that would weigh filled with shells.

If I want practical, I’ll buy one of the Shotgun Grab and Go bags from Olongapo Outfitters down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Their bag is well-thought out and will hold a boxes of shells in each pouch. It may cost more but you do get what you pay for.

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More Revenue Than Ford Motor Company

March 10, 2013 by 2 Comments



The One Minute MBA studied the business of guns and found that the firearms industry generated $10 billion more revenue that Ford Motor Company. It also employs five times as many people as Google. As Exurban Kev noted at Misfires and Light Strikes, this shows “why Magpul’s potential move out of Colorado matters.”

Unless two Democrat state senators change their vote Monday on the final vote on HB 1224, I’m afraid the good people of Colorado are going to find out this out first-hand. Even if the Colorado Republican sweep the Democrats out of office in 2014, Magpul and their jobs will still be gone. Once they move I sincerely doubt that they would ever relocate back to Colorado.

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Junk Research Is Still Junk Research

March 10, 2013 by 2 Comments

Mayor Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors are touting a story about a “study” that ostensibly shows states with the most gun control have fewer “gun-related deaths”.

The story in USA Today highlights a study put out by Dr. Eric Fleegler, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Harvard University. Part of the study team was notoriously anti-gun David Hemenway of the Harvard School of Public Health. The study used data from the CDC’s Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) database and from the Brady Campaign. Yes, you read that right, the Brady Campaign. They included both homicides and suicides in their population of “firearms-related deaths”. 


As hard as they tried, they only found an “association” and not any causal relationship between firearms laws and the deaths.

The study also found that laws requiring universal background checks and permits to purchase firearms were most clearly associated with decreasing rates of gun-related homicides and suicides.

Despite the findings, researchers did not establish a cause and effect relationship between guns and deaths. Rather, they could only establish an association.

You know your research has a problem when even Garen Wintemute criticizes it.

That failure illustrates the limits of the study, said Garen Wintemute, an emergency physician and director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.

“Policy makers can really draw no conclusion from this study,” Wintemute said, explaining that the study doesn’t provide critical answers to which laws work and why.

And what is the answer that both Wintemute and the authors of the Boston Children’s Hospital study push? More money to do anti-gun research. There was a reason that Congress limited the CDC’s budget on firearms research and junk research was at the heart of it.

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Why Doesn’t Obama Support Self-Determination For The Falklands

March 10, 2013 by

The Heritage Foundation has released an interesting YouTube cartoon regarding the Falkland Islands and the Obama Administration’s refusal to back self-determination for the islanders. The islanders are holding a referendum today and tomorrow to vote on whether they want to remain a British territory or become part of Argentina.

The United States has traditionally supported self-determination. However, in this case, the United States seems to be backing the Argentinians who want bi-lateral talks with the UK and a UN resolution on “decolonization.” The Falklands and their residents are different from most colonies in that the “native peoples” are still direct descendants of the original settlers.

Colonialism was a reasonable framework to apply to European colonies in
Africa and Asia, but it is utterly inappropriate to apply it to the
Falkland Islands, where virtually the entire population is of British
descent. The Argentine argument that Britain is exercising “19th-century
colonialism” by allowing the people of the Falkland Islands to govern
themselves as they see fit illustrates the extent to which the Argentine
position rests on nothing more than outdated and historically erroneous
abuse.
As Jan Cheek, a member of the Falklands Legislative Assembly, pointed
out in response: “My grandchildren are the eighth generation of my
family to have lived here, which is considerably longer than the
Argentine president’s family have been living in Argentina.”

I certainly could see why the Falkland Islanders would prefer to not be part of Argentina. Even the Argentinians are protesting against the high inflation, corruption, and crime in their country. One just needs to read Fernando Ferfal Aguire aka Ferfal’s book on surviving the economic collapse in Argentina to know that becoming part of Argentina is not exactly a smart proposition. Indeed, Ferfal now lives in Northern Ireland.

I can’t explain the Obama Administration’s tilt towards Argentina other than to think it is a reflection of the anti-West ideology that Ann Dunham fed her son when he was growing up. It certainly makes a mockery of the special relationship that has existed between Great Britain and the United States as well as making a mockery of our traditions.

UPDATE: The vote tally is in and as expected the Falkland Islanders have voted to retain their current status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. There was a 92% voter turnout.

Out of the 1,517 votes cast, only three voted No on the question of retaining their affiliation with the UK. This is an even more lopsided vote than that late darling of the Socialist Left Hugo Chavez could achieve in Venezuela! I wonder what Secretary of State John Kerry will make of that.

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For Those In Northern Illinois

March 9, 2013 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association put out an alert this morning about a county board meeting in Joliet that will vote on a concealed carry resolution. They are asking people to attend and make their views known.


URGENT ALERT – YOUR ACTION REQUIRED:
WILL COUNTY BOARD TO VOTE ON CONCEALED CARRY RESOLUTION

PLEASE BE THERE TO SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT RESOLUTION

WHEN: Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 8:30 AM (please plan to be there by 8:00)
WHERE: Will County Office Building, County Board Room, 302 North Chicago Street, Joliet

Please pass this Alert along to your friends and relatives.

Please post this Alert to any and all Internet Blogs or Bulletin Boards to which you may belong.

You do not have to live in Will County to attend!

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GRNC On New Bills In NC General Assembly

March 9, 2013 by

Two new bills and a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment have been introduced before the North Carolina House of Representatives in the past few days. All three are great for gun rights and Grass Roots North Carolina is asking people to write their legislators to support them.

From GRNC’s Alert:



Constitutional amendment, campus carry, & more…

SB 190: ‘Gun on Ed. Prop./Stored in Locked Car’

Drafted with assistance from GRNC and sponsored by Sen. Bill Cook (R-Beaufort, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, GRNC ****), SB 190 would allow concealed handgun permit-holders to keep firearms in locked motor vehicles on educational properties, further permitting their removal for defensive purposes. Although the bill is not the full campus carry bill which GRNC is shepherding (and which will soon be introduced), SB 190 would apply to all concealed handgun permit-holders, unlike other bills introduced to date. Beyond providing limited means for self-defense, it would prevent thousands of parents, taking children to school, from becoming accidental felons.

HB 246: ‘The Gun Rights Amendment’

First, let us note that the main mover behind the bill, Rep. Larry Pittman (R-Cabarrus, GRNC ****), is arguably the greatest patriot in the General Assembly. He is already being attacked for his patriotism, and we need to defend him.

HR 246 is admittedly a “hail Mary” pass. If passed, however, it would be the most comprehensive expansion of gun rights in North Carolina history. In addition to removing language from Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution which says, “Nothing herein shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the General Assembly from enacting penal statutes against that practice”, it would expand concealed carry into restaurants, court buildings, assemblies for which admission is charged, and elsewhere.

HR 63: ‘Support Right to Bear Arms’

Sponsored by Rep. Michael Speciale (R-Beaufort, Craven, Pamlico, GRNC ****), HR 63 simply reaffirms the Second Amendment and North Carolina Constitution language on the individual right to keep and bear arms, notes that the Obama administration is proposing restrictions on that right, notes that gun control has not been found in studies to be effective, and passes on that purely symbolic reaffirmation to the North Carolina congressional delegation.

GRNC normally doesn’t expend resources on non-binding resolutions and, frankly, considered this so non-controversial we didn’t even issue an alert prior to its hearing in the House Rules Committee. But that was before North Carolinians “Against Gun Violence” rallied its radicals against the resolution, whining:

“Despite the rhetoric about ‘individual rights’ and gun laws being unconstitutional, five years of legal decisions show, legislators and activists should feel confident that a variety of smart laws are constitutional, desperately needed, and desired by the majority of North Carolinians!”

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

For SB 190: ‘Gun on Ed. Prop./Stored in Locked Car’

Contact members of the Senate Rules Committee, to which the bill has been referred

Thank Sens. Bill Cook & Andrew Brock for their leadership on this issue

For HB 246: ‘The Gun Rights Amendment’

Contact members of the House Rules Committee and ask them for a committee hearing. Note: Please bear in mind that Rules Chair Tim Moore has been a consistent friend of gun owners. Please treat him accordingly

Thank Rep. Pittman for his patriotism

For HR 63: ‘Support Right to Bear Arms’

HR 63 passed the Rules Committee on Tuesday and is now headed to the House floor. To counter an organization so antithetical to freedom that it feels compelled to put the words “individual rights” in quotes, immediately contact your House rep and tell them to vote for HR 63.

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SB 190
Senate Rules Committee:

Chairman: Sen. Tom Apodaca

Vice Chairman: Sen. Peter S. Brunstetter

Members: Sen. Chad Barefoot, Sen. Dan Blue, Sen. Andrew C. Brock, Sen. Harry Brown, Sen. Ben Clark, Sen. Kathy Harrington, Sen. Ralph Hise, Sen. Brent Jackson, Sen. Clark Jenkins, Sen. Wesley Meredith, Sen. Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr., Sen. E. S. (Buck) Newton, Sen. Bill Rabon, Sen. Josh Stein

Copy and paste email list: Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net, Peter.Brunstetter@ncleg.netChad.Barefoot@ncleg.net, Dan.Blue@ncleg.net, Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net, Harry.Brown@ncleg.net, Ben.Clark@ncleg.net, Kathy.Harrington@ncleg.net, Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net, Brent.Jackson@ncleg.net, Clark.Jenkins@ncleg.net, Wesley.Meredith@ncleg.net, Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net, Buck.Newton@ncleg.net, Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net, Josh.Stein@ncleg.net

Members of the Senate Rules Committee:

SB 190: “Gun on Ed. Prop./Stored in Locked Car” deserves a committee hearing. Often, bills referred to the Rules Committee are sentenced by leadership to death. However, SB 190 is reasonable and moderate legislation which will not only serve to deter violent predators but will protect thousands of parents, who keep firearms in their vehicles and take their kids to school, from the risk of being prosecuted as accidental felons.

I strongly urge you to either give SB 190 a hearing in the Rules Committee, or re-refer it to a Judiciary Committee. Please advise me of your position on this issue. I will be monitoring committee actions via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR HB 246
House Rules Committee

Chairman: Rep. T. Moore

Vice Chairman: Rep. Burr

Vice Chairman: Rep. Stam

Members: Rep. Blust, Rep. Boles, Rep. Brandon, Rep. Brisson, Rep. Carney, Rep. Daughtry, Rep. Farmer-Butterfield, Rep. Floyd, Rep. L. Hall, Rep. Hamilton, Rep. Hastings, Rep. Holloway, Rep. Jackson, Rep. Johnson, Rep. Lewis, Rep. Moffitt, Rep. Saine, Rep. Samuelson, Rep. Starnes, Rep. Stone, Rep. Torbett

Copy and paste email list: Tim.Moore@ncleg.net, Justin.Burr@ncleg.net, Paul.Stam@ncleg.net, John.Blust@ncleg.net, Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net, Marcus.Brandon@ncleg.net, William.Brisson@ncleg.net, Becky.Carney@ncleg.net, Leo.Daughtry@ncleg.net, Jean.Farmer-Butterfield@ncleg.net, Elmer.Floyd@ncleg.net, Larry.Hall@ncleg.net, Susi.Hamilton@ncleg.net, Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net, Bryan.Holloway@ncleg.net, Darren.Jackson@ncleg.net, Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net, David.Lewis@ncleg.net, Tim.Moffitt@ncleg.net, Jason.Saine@ncleg.net, Ruth.Samuelson@ncleg.net, Edgar.Starnes@ncleg.net, Michael.Stone@ncleg.net, John.Torbett@ncleg.net

Members of the House Rules Committee:

HB 246: “The Gun Rights Amendment” deserves a committee hearing. Often, bills referred to the Rules Committee are sentenced by leadership to death. But concealed handgun permit-holders have spent eighteen years proving themselves sane, sober and law-abiding. It is time for legislative leadership to stand up to the media and the anti-gun left by expanding concealed carry and making North Carolina a model for the nation.

Please advise me of your position on this issue. I will be monitoring committee actions via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR HR 63

Contact your House rep and tell them to vote for HR 63.

Find your NC House rep by going to: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx

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Rep. Mark Meadows On School Safety

March 8, 2013 by 2 Comments

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC-11), my Congressman, was on Cam and Company yesterday to discuss his bill that would reallocate monies to the existing Cops in Schools Program. HR 751- Protect America’s Schools Act of 2013 – would shift $30 million to the Cops in Schools program by reallocating $30 million in unobligated balances from NOAA. In other words, it would increase school security without raising the deficit.

Meadows’ bill currently has 11 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

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Cartoon Puts It In Perspective

March 8, 2013 by 3 Comments

A cartoon that ran yesterday in the Denver Post’s The Spot blog really puts things in perspective about the political culture in Colorado.

Colorado voters approved private use of marijuana in the past election. This measure was opposed by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Now it appears Hickenlooper will support and sign HB 1224 which would result in magazine maker Mapgul to move out of state. Frankly, I think Hickenlooper has his priorities backwards.

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Noted “Insurrectionist” On IGOLD 2013

March 8, 2013 by

That noted insurrectionist Roy Kubicek aka Thirdpower has a post up with full coverage of the Illinois State Rifle Association’s IGOLD 2013 on his blog Days of Our Trailers. IGOLD stands for Illinois Gun Owner Lobbying Day.

Thirdpower has some great pictures of the march through Springfield as well as the speakers at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center. Of particular note is Mary Shepard who was the lead plaintiff in Shepard v. Madigan.

Picture by Thirdpower, Mary Shepard next to David & Colleen Lawson.

Roy, for those that don’t know, was singled out by Joshua Horwitz of CSGV for attention during Horwitz’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Of course, Horwitz used a severely edited and selective quote of Roy’s blog post. More on that here.

* I just noticed that this was my 3000th post. I’m glad to see it was on the efforts of the gun owners of Illinois to preserve and protect their Second Amendment rights.

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This Doesn’t Make Sense To Me

March 8, 2013 by 2 Comments

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Remington Arms is planning to invest $20 million in an upgrade to its Ilion, New York plant. The news comes from local politicians who had a meeting on Wednesday with the company.

Local media outlets report that three senators and three Assembly
members met with Remington officials on Wednesday to discuss what they
could do to ensure the company keeps its plant in the Herkimer County
village of Ilion, where Remington employs about 1,200 people.

The report goes on to say that Remington themselves has no comment on the news.

Local news station WKTV Utica has more on the story. The story of the meeting of the New York legislators with senior officials from Remington Arms was the lead story on their evening broadcast.

The senior officials involved were Otto Weigl, senior vice president government and legislative affairs,
Jonathan Sprole, general counsel, and Paul Merz, Ilion plant manager. This meeting is balanced out by a meeting between Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) and Freedom Group CEO George Kollitides in Austin, Texas. Perry tweeted a picture of himself with Kollitides while holding what appears to be a Remington Defense AR-15 and wearing a Remington jacket on March 1st.

As I said in the headline, it doesn’t make sense for Remington to invest money in plant and equipment upgrades to the Ilion plant given the NY SAFE law and the anti-gun fervor of New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo. That said, it could be used as a bargaining chip with the industrial and economic development teams of other states that are seeking to have the plant move to their state.

The reality is that it isn’t easy to relocate a plant of the size of the Remington plant in Ilion. While building a new plant in another state or moving the machinery wouldn’t be hard,  it would be hard to replicate the workforce. I could see Remington moving the AR, pistol, and semi-auto rifle production out of that plant and leaving the shotgun and bolt-action rifle manufacturing there. In a way that would make sense as the pistol production could be shifted to the Para USA plant in North Carolina and the AR and other semi-auto production could go to a new plant anywhere.

As with all of these things, we’ll see.