The NSSF is out with a new Doug Koenig video on handgun shooting. Goal setting is an important part of getting better. While much of what he is saying applies to competition, it can apply equally well to practicing for self-defense. If you go to the range just to blast away, you are plinking. But if you go with a goal in mind and certain skills you want to work on, that is practicing.
In what amounts to the third legal victory for gun rights this week, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously denied Seattle’s petition for review of Seattle’s ban on guns in parks. Lower courts had found that Seattle’s gun ban violated Washington State’s preemption law and overturned the park ban.
From the Second Amendment Foundation:
SAF HAILS WA HIGH COURT DENIAL OF SEATTLE GUN BAN APPEAL
For Immediate Release: 3/8/2012
BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation is delighted that the Washington State Supreme Court has unanimously denied the City of Seattle’s petition for review in the case of Winnie Chan v. City of Seattle, a legal action brought by SAF, the National Rifle Association and five individual plaintiffs.
The decision affirms the state’s long-standing preemption law and two lower court rulings, thus preventing the city from banning firearms from city parks property.
It was the third straight loss for the city, which had first attempted to ban firearms from park facilities under former Mayor Greg Nickels, in open defiance of Washington State’s model preemption statute. Following its initial loss in King County Superior Court, the city, under Nickels’ successor, Mayor Mike McGinn, appealed its loss to the State Court of Appeals. That court also ruled unanimously against the city, which petitioned the state high court last year for review.
“We are proud that the State Supreme Court panel, led by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, unanimously rejected Seattle’s flagrant attempt to override state law and violate the civil rights of citizens living in or visiting the city,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Mayor McGinn and the City Council should be ashamed that they pursued this pipe dream in an effort to turn the city into a banana republic. By letting the appeals court ruling stand, other anti-gun officials in city and county governments are on notice that they simply cannot ignore state law.
“We are equally proud of our partners in this important legal action,” he continued. “We were joined by the NRA, Washington Arms Collectors, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and five courageous citizens. Our plaintiffs were willing to stand up to the city and public officials who seem determined to transform Seattle into a political gulag where a civil right can be dismissed at will in the interest of political correctness.
“And finally,” Gottlieb stated, “we are all very proud of our legal team led by Steve Fogg and Molly Malouf at Corr Cronin. They did a marvelous job, not only for their clients, but for the citizens of this state, whose civil rights apply everywhere, whether the City of Seattle likes it or not.”
You will note that both the Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA were parties in the original case. It is good to see that they can work together when needed.
WJZ – CBS Baltimore had this story on the win in the Woollard case. They interviewed both Cary Hansel and Alan Gura on the decision. Other than a mention of the statement from the Attorney General’s Office that they planned to appeal, all the coverage was of our side of the debate.
As the CalGuns Foundation said in a tweet this morning, “When this is the media coverage of a carry win, we’re winning.” And they are absolutely correct as no attention was given to the Brady Campaign or any of the other gun prohibitionists.
A reporter from America’s Morning News stopped Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and asked him a few questions about Operation Fast and Furious. It is a great ambush interview. Too bad Breuer didn’t go all “Bob Etheridge” and demand to know “who are you” while going for a choke-hold on the reporter. THAT would have made this even better. Look what happened to Etheridge’s re-election after he did that.
Without running the numbers, I don’t have statistical evidence that Obama’s increased chances of re-election are correlated with the rise in firearm sales. However, there is increasing anecdotal evidence to suggest that is the case. Not only are NSSF-adjusted NICS checks significantly higher for February 2012 versus February 2008 but local TV stations are starting to notice the trend. Case in point is this report from KCEN which covers Killeen, Temple, and Waco, Texas.
“They’re my freedom,” says Charles Smith, a gun enthusiast who knows a thing or two about guns. “We take a lot of people who have never shot to our gun range and they’re hooked,” says Smith.
Charles like many other gun owners, are weary of any laws that would restrict their pass time. And many who believe President Obama will be re-elected are not taking any chances. Buying up ammo and guns before it’s too late.
Jim Manley of the Mountain States Legal Foundation was interviewed on Monday by Cam Edwards about the Colorado Supreme Court decision in favor of campus carry. In that decision, the court said that the ban on concealed carry at the University of Colorado violated the state’s Concealed Carry Act.
I think Jim made a very good point regarding campus carry in Colorado when he said that they have had almost ten years of experience with it at Colorado State University and have had no problems. That is something the gun prohibitionists don’t want you to know.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, has released its statistics for the month of February. We are now at 21 months and counting of year over year increases in monthly NICS checks adjusted for CCW checks.
From the NSSF:
The February 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,266,344 is an increase of 31.4 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 963,746 in February 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted February 2012 NICS figure of 1,734,646 reflects a 18.6 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,463,138 in February 2011.
It is important to remember that this isn’t a direct correlation to firearm sales as NICS checks are used for other purposes such as the background check in some states for a concealed carry permit. That said, the NSSF has adjusted these numbers for those checks. These adjusted numbers do represent a reliable indicator of monthly firearm sales of both new and used firearms despite the denials of gun prohibitionist Josh Horwitz.
What I found particularly interesting in February’s numbers was the incredible increase for February 2012 over February 2008. Both are election year months with the primaries well under way. Looking back to February 2008, it was still neck and neck in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. More importantly, the economy had not started into recession yet and the major banks had not imploded. In other words, consumers were still relatively optimistic and had more money available to buy things like guns and ammo.
Fast forward to today and the unemployment rate is hovering at 9% more or less. The economy is still stumbling. Yet, the adjusted NICS check figure is approximately 500,000 more for 2012 than for 2008. If I had to answer why, my guess is that it has to do with politics. Specifically with the bitter Republican primaries between a bunch of weak candidates that excite very few, the chances of Obama being reelected have increased to at least 50-50. I think this rightly scares gun owners and potential gun owners as there is no telling what an Obama Administration could do in a second term regarding gun rights without having the constraints of reelection. Frankly that is a very sobering thought.
Aaron Spuler at the Weapon-Blog has released his list of gun contests and giveaways for the month of March.
While not as many as some months, it makes up for it with quality. I see a couple of custom 1911’s, the new Sig P224, some nice rifles, and even a replica of the PPs 50 in .22 LR.
If you do take advantage of any of these, please take time to thank Aaron for providing this service.
Patrick Shomo, President of the Maryland Shall Issue -The Citizens Defense League of Maryland, released this statement today regarding the great win in the Woollard case.
On Woollard
“A citizen may not be required to offer a good and substantial reason why he should be permitted to exercise his rights. The right‘s existence is all the reason he needs.”
That simple truth was all it took to rule that Maryland unconstitutionally denies carry permits to law-abiding people. The US Federal District Court in Baltimore reminded us – in a single line – that our civil rights belong to ‘We, The People’, and not ‘They, The Government’.
Maryland Shall Issue welcomes this ruling. Maryland law required the issuance of a carry permit to law-abiding people only if they meet one or more requirements, including a “Good and Substantial Cause” above that of the average citizen. The Court ruled that such a requirement could not survive the scrutiny of the US Constitution. The right to armed defense is one of the few enumerated, fundamental rights that we possess, and the state may not simply wish it away.
The impact of this decision – in the immediate case – is that the law used to deny your rights is unconstitutional. Technically, this makes Maryland a Shall-Issue state, as of now. MSI anticipated this decision and supported this case through funding and outreach. We are excited by the win, but also ready for the next steps. The state will not take this quietly, and has already announced their intention to appeal the ruling and also to request a stay on its implementation. It will likely be several weeks before such action is contemplated by the courts.
During that time, many have asked MSI, “What does this mean for me, and is now the time to apply?”
We say: If you can afford the fees, feel free to apply. It will tell the state to stop denying you the lawful exercise of your rights.
While arguing this case, the state claimed that their approval rate is greater than 90%, while conveniently omitting the fact that few will apply for a permit they know the state will not approve. The state has also claimed that the people of Maryland have little interest in this fundamental civil right. They are wrong.
Your application will join many others. We do not know how the state will handle your application. Technically, under this ruling the state cannot deny you for failure to provide a ‘Good and Substantial Cause’ to exercise your right. That said, no outcome is assured when dealing with Maryland politicians bent on maintaining a system of patronage that approves 25 years of permits for well-connected bankers, but never one for the common man. The state will fight – they might delay application processing through the time of their appeal. They are going to ask the courts to let them continue to deny our rights while they spend yet more taxpayer dollars crafting inane arguments that claim Maryland residents are more likely to commit crime when exercising their right than the 43 states that are Shall-Issue. It is clear that the state believes law-abiding Maryland people are simply more bestial than the rest of the nation. In the end, Maryland’s tired arguments will fail. When the higher courts affirm this ruling, each application denied is a civil right denied. And in the event the state does not get their stay, well…then Maryland Shall Issue.
If times are tough for you, please stand by. In spite of this ruling, there is risk when dealing with a state that has done all in its power to deny your civil rights for decades. We promise there are going to be many ways to assist in the weeks and months ahead.
As for the application itself, when it asks for “Reason for handgun permit” (9a), please note “For Self Defense and All Lawful Purposes”. You need not attach documented threats or police reports, but if you have them please do so. If someone from the state discourages you from applying or attempts to prevent your application from consideration, get their name and let us know immediately.
Remember this: the State of Maryland is on the hook to explain to the Federal Courts and the People of Maryland why they continually deny a fundamental civil right. Your rights do not come from the government – they are yours and the government cannot remove them just because they wish your compliance. Every lawful person denied the exercise of this right is another violation of basic civil rights.
If you choose to apply, please share your story with us and let us know how you progress through the system. MSI intends to follow as many applications as possible and share general statistics with our partners. We are watching the state. We will not release your personal info to anyone without your express written consent. Just drop us an email and join the rest of us in demanding our rights be recognized, today.
The following is the contact info for Maryland Shall Issue:
Email:
Postal Mail:
Phone:
HB 111 which would allow concealed carry in restaurants and eating establishments that serve alcohol has passed the NC State House. However, it has languished in the State Senate. The General Assembly will reconvene in about 6 weeks and it is time to get the attention of both the Republican and Democratic leadership.
For those that have Twitter accounts, Sean Sorrentino has set up an easy way for you to send a message with a link to an account of a restaurant shooting. One of Sean’s good friends was a victim of that shooting but lived.
I would follow up with your own State Senator – even if they are anti-rights – with a direct email or letter. You can find address information for all Senators here. Just go to the pull-down menu in the upper right corner and select your State Senator.
The Republican leadership is reportedly scared of the bill due to some spurious poll supposedly showing a majority against it. It is time to put the pressure on them and remind them they need to get right with those who helped give them that majority – gun owners.
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