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Wise Words

December 28, 2012 by 5 Comments

Richard Pearson, Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, had this advice in his ISRA Thursday Bulletin. I consider them to be very wise words from someone who has been fighting in the trenches for gun rights for a long time.

As you are aware gun owners have been taking a pounding from the anti-gunners and their allies- the main stream media. Those two groups have declared war on gun owners and we will be maligned, degraded, demonized, and bullied in an effort to turn one group of gun owners against another. Don’t fall for it. I am a strong believer in the Farmer Doctrine.

The Farmer Doctrine was adopted at the first Gun Rights Policy Conference in 1985. The Farmer Doctrine is patterned after the NATO Doctrine. The Farmer Doctrine is as follows: Be it resolved that an attack one group of guns and gun owners shall be considered an attack on all guns and gun owners. Therefore we should all rise to the defense of each other.

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Turnabout Is Fair Play

December 28, 2012 by 1 Comment

By now, most people have heard about the newspaper in New York that thought it was a good idea to publish the names and addresses of each and every pistol permit holder in Westchester and Rockland Counties on an interactive map.

Many are also aware that Christopher Fountain in his blog For What It’s Worth thought that turnabout was fair play and has published the home addresses of the publisher, editor, and damn near every reporter on the Journal News. This move has gotten a lot of attention starting with Instapundit and now CNN. Politico has a story on it here. You can see part of the CNN interview below.

Another blogger has taken this list of Journal News employees a step further and created an online map.

Frankly, I think each and every time some harebrained journalist or editor gets it into his or her head to publish the names of legal permit holders – whether for pistols or carry permits – we need to respond in kind.

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Grandstanding

December 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

The 112th Congress will come to a close on January 3, 2013 when the 113th Congress is sworn into office. Thus, introducing a bill into the House of Representatives in mid-December is all about appearance and has nothing to do with substance. Of course this doesn’t stop politicians from doing just that knowing that these newly introduced bills will never get enacted.

A case in point are three bills introduced on December 18th, 19th, and 21st that all deal with some aspect of gun control or call for gun bans. This was just days after the shootings in Newtown, CT. The congressmen in question are all Democrats who will now be able to say “they did something” but it was those “evil Republicans in the pocket of the NRA” who refused to act on their bills.

The first bill, HR 6680, is by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL). Rush is a former Black Panther who’s claim to fame seems to be that he beat then-State Senator Barack Obama in the primary for the 1st Congressional District. The title of HR 6680 is “To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.” No other information is available on the bill and the text of it hasn’t been sent to the GPO. If any text is ever sent to them I’d be surprised.

The bill, HR 6685, is from Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) which would ban the FN Five-seveN pistol and its associated ammunition. Ostensibly the purpose of this ban is to protect law enforcement officers.

To protect the Nation’s law enforcement officers by banning the Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS190, SS192, SS195LF, SS196, and SS197 cartridges, testing handguns and ammunition for capability to penetrate body armor, and prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or purchase of such handguns or ammunition by civilians.

Again, like with Rep. Bobby Rush, no text has been received by the Government Printing Office and none probably will be received. It is a bill for show and not meant to actually be enacted.

The final bill was introduced by Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY). HR 6704 would “reauthorize the ban on undetectable firearms”. While I don’t know how you would create an “undetectable firearm”, Rep. Israel must have some special knowledge that I don’t possess. Otherwise why would he seek to ban firearms that don’t currently exist? I can’t read the text of the bill to get some idea as – again – it doesn’t exist.

While this end of the session grandstanding is not limited to anti-gun Democrats, most of the other bills concern stuff like the naming of post offices or federal buildings.The real threats will come in January when the gun prohibitionists such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) start introducing their new bills.

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All Animals Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others

December 27, 2012 by 2 Comments

Now more than ever we live in an Orwellian world. 

Thanks to Bitter at Shall Not Be Questioned for pointing out a story on TMZ regarding BATFE intervention on behalf of David Gregory and his illegal in DC 30-round magazine. It seems officials in Comrade Napolean’s, err, I mean President Obama’s ATF contacted the Metro PD on behalf of NBC and were told Gregory could “display” the magazine.

Well-placed law enforcement sources tell TMZ … a staffer from “Meet
the Press” called ATF before the show aired to inquire about the
legality of David holding the empty magazine during a segment on gun
control.  We’re told the ATF person contacted the D.C. police to find
out if the District of Columbia — the place where the show is broadcast
— had a law prohibiting such a display. 

Our sources say the
D.C. police official informed ATF David could legally show the magazine,
provided it was empty.  An ATF official then called the staffer from
“Meet the Press” to inform them they could use the magazine.

From a reader comment that Glenn Reynolds posted on Instapundit along with his response:

Reader Stephen Johnson emails: “ATF approval simply makes no sense.
The ATF has no jurisdiction over DC gun laws. And if, in fact, NBC news
called the ATF to ask ‘permission’ this just reinforces how stupid they
are about gun laws and jurisdiction. This story smells…. bad.” Hmm.
If D.C. were a state I’d be sure this was correct. But since it’s a
federal enclave I’m not sure.

Insofar as comments go regarding this matter, I do like the one from rickn8or at Say Uncle:

So if we get caught with anything illegal in DC, all we gotta do is tell the cop we want a “David Gregory”?

Unfortunately, I think one has to be a member of the national propaganda corps aka the mainstream media to be able to get a “David Gregory”. 

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Interesting But Not The Best Of Ideas

December 26, 2012 by 5 Comments

By now you may have read about the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s active investigation into David Gregory. The host of NBC’s Meet the Press thought a 30 round AR magazine would make a cool prop to shake in the face of Wayne LaPierre this past Sunday. What Gregory didn’t think about was the DC law which forbids the mere possession of any magazine that is capable of holding more than 10 rounds. If he did think about the law, he obviously assumed it didn’t apply to “esteemed journalists” such as himself.

Now conservative attorney Aaron Walker is offering to defend Gregory on Second Amendment grounds in a challenge to the DC law. Walker, who blogs and tweets as “Aaron Worthing”, made the offer yesterday on Twitter. Twitchy has aggregated the tweets by Walker on the subject here. Walker is better known for the whole Brett Kimberlin saga.

While at first blush it sounds like a great idea challenging the DC law on Second Amendment grounds to get a gun hater off, in this case it is rather short sighted. As Alan Gura has pointed out many times in many venues, Second Amendment litigation needs to be strategic. Case law needs to built bit by bit and precedents set. It is a cumulative process where the success of the current case depends upon earlier positive precedents. This is the same process that Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund used over time to defeat both de jure and de facto segregation by race.

The threat to this strategy comes from both criminal attorneys trying to use the Second Amendment to get crooks off the hook and misguided ideologues like Leonard Embody who represent themselves in court. I think defending David Gregory in a court of law on Second Amendment grounds would likewise be a threat to this strategy. While you and I may disagree, I think it highly unlikely at this time that a court would find the DC restrictions unreasonable and inconsistent with the Heller decision.

So I would say to Aaron Walker, while it sounds like a cool idea, don’t go there if you care at all about the Second Amendment.

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Merry Christmas

December 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

I want to wish each and every one of my regular (and irregular) readers a very Merry Christmas. I hope that it has been full of joy and laughter and squeals of delight from the kids.

I don’t want to let politics intrude on this day so I won’t. There is plenty of time starting tomorrow for that.

Again, I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and stay safe on this blessed day.

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Hey David! About That 30 Round Mag…

December 25, 2012 by 5 Comments

As has been reported many places on the Internet, David Gregory broke District of Columbia law regarding the possession of magazines with greater than 10 round capacity.

It seems that NBC asked the Metropolitan Police Department if they could use that 30 round magazine in the Meet the Press segment. They were told it was not permissible before the show.

A post on Arfcom has an email the Metropolitian Police Department has been sending out in response to people who have asked about the legality of Gregory’s actions.

“From: “DC Police (imailagent)”

Subject: Email from DC Police (Intranet Quorum IMA00519327)

Date: December 24, 2012 4:13:12 PM EST

To: (OODA_Loop)



The Metropolitan Police Department is in receipt of your e-mail
regarding David Gregory segment on “Meet the Press.” MPD has received
numerous e-mails informing us of the segment. NBC contacted MPD
inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their
segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazines
is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is
currently being investigated. Thank you for taking the time to bring
this matter to our attention.


Customer Service – Metropolitan Police Department”

 Now it remains to be seen whether the DC police has the spine to charge Gregory with violating the law. I’m not going to hold my breath over that.

UPDATE: This story and the news of the active investigation by the MPD has expanded outside the gun blogosphere. Breitbart had a story on it this morning and reported that Chief Cathy Lanier has confirmed there is an active investigation. 

The legal blogs Legal Insurrection and Althouse have both picked up the story. Professor Althouse asks what is there to investigate as Gregory asserted on camera that it was a 30 round magazine. She continues:

Either he violated the criminal law or he lied. He certainly expected us
to believe he held in his hand what he said he held. What made him
think he could do that (or appear to do that)? He must think the law
doesn’t apply to him, or he wouldn’t even pretend to break it.

I think we can all agree that David Gregory doesn’t think the law applies to him. Thus, the importance of continuing to push this. As a comment to an earlier post on Legal Insurrection which called for investigating the investigators and inquiring of the inquisitors pointed out:

Exactly so, Professor … and that kind of thing is actually an
application of Alinsky’s Rule(s) for Radicals Number Four, which states:

“Make opponents live up to their own book of rules. ‘You can kill
them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the
Christian church can live up to Christianity.’ ”

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Gun Rights Advocate Nominated For School Board

December 24, 2012 by 3 Comments

The Forsyth County (NC) Republican Party has nominated David Regnery to fill a vacant spot on the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Board of Education. Regnery is unapologetic in his defense of the Second Amendment and is a member of the board of directors of Grass Roots North Carolina. This has at least one county commissioner upset.

At least four of the seven commissioners say they will vote for Regnery.
At least one, Walter Marshall, says he will not, calling Regnery’s
positions on guns and other issues “frightening.”

Regnery holds a NC Concealed Handgun Permit and is certified by the NC Department of Justice as a concealed carry instructor. He is in favor of allowing school personnel carry concealed provided they received additional training to complement their NC CHP.

Regnery disagreed that his life revolves around guns saying, “”My whole life is not surrounded by guns,’ Regnery said. ‘My life is surrounded by two children and my wife, and work.'”

The story about Regnery’s nomination was on the front page of Sunday’s Winston-Salem Journal along with a story about the record-breaking attendance at the local gun show this weekend.

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Winston-Salem (NC) Wants To Ditch The Park Carry Law

December 24, 2012 by

The City of Winston-Salem has been one of the most vocal and consistent opponents of HB 650 which forced North Carolina municipalities to allow concealed carry in city and county parks. Now, according to this alert from Grass Roots North Carolina, they are seeking to have the law repealed in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

Demands Repeal of HB 650 Expanded Carry in Parks…

Insensitively exploiting the recent evil mass-homicide within a “Gun-Free” Connecticut school, the Winston-Salem City Council announced a list of requested legislation they want to see from this year’s NC General Assembly. Among these demands is repeal of last year’s expanded park carry that was passed as HB 650.

Incredibly, the Council responds to murder in a “Gun-Free Zone” by demanding expansion of their dangerous reach within North Carolina municipalities.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines was quoted as saying park carry is “a mixed bag, and it’s confusing. The legislature pre-empted local governments’ authority to control local parks. I think they should leave that up to us.” Compliance with this law is as easy as permitting law-abiding citizens to carry everywhere. Left up to the Mayor, we would be unable to defend our families in parks. This type of endangerment can no longer be tolerated.

Council Member Derwin Montgomery claims, “local governments have a right to regulate the time and place (arms are carried)”. So according to the Councilman, a right that “shall not be infringed” upon can be “regulated”?

Perhaps Winston-Salem’s efforts are more-related to an attempt to avoid responsibility for violating the provisions of HB 650 and the resulting lawsuit pursued GRNC’s partner, Rights Watch International?

Either way, Winston-Salem has earned a reminder from North Carolina gun owners that we will not permit expansion of dangerous“Gun-Free Zones” in our state, and have no patience for municipalities that violate state law by infringing upon gun rights.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

CONTACT THE WINSTON-SALEM CITY COUNCIL and let them know that you don’t appreciate their clear violations of state law and attempt to expand dangerous “Gun-Free Zones” of defenselessness within NC municipalities

CONTACT INFO

danbesse@danbesse.org; vivianb@cityofws.org; denisea@cityofws.org; robertc@cityofws.org; derwinm@cityofws.org; mollyl@cityofws.org; wandam@cityofws.org; jamestjr@cityofws.org; allenj@cityofws.org

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: Don’t make parks “Gun-Free” murder zones.

Winston-Salem leadership :

I am disappointed that you have decided to violate state law and continue to violate the rights of law-abiding North Carolina gun owners to defend themselves and their families in your parks. I am also disappointed that you are demanding that HB 650, last year’s expanded park carry bill, be rescinded. This important law decreases the area in which citizens are disarmed in our state. As we have seen with the increase in mass-homicides within “Gun-Free Zones”, places where citizens are prevented from being able to effectively defend themselves and their families are the most dangerous places in our society.

I urge you to stop your promotion of “Gun-Free Zones” in parks, and to embrace the common-sense expansion of freedom created by HB 650.

Sincerely,

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Quote Of The Day

December 24, 2012 by



Dave Hardy on the White House petition to deport Piers Morgan:

I wonder why the pitch for signing omits the strongest reason:
“pontificating, underinformed, supercilious twit, whose arrival here was
in violation of the legal prohibitions against importing foreign insect
pests.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. As for deporting Morgan, that exile from Fleet Street, I say let him stay. He is a good reminder of what happens to a country when it has effectively banned most firearms and the right to self-defense.