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Committee Hearings Set On 2 NC Gun Laws

May 17, 2011 by 1 Comment

The North Carolina House Judiciary C Subcommittee will hold hearings on HB 650 – Amend Various Gun Laws – tomorrow. Sean at A NC Gun Blog has a section by section analysis of HB 650. As Sean says, “the bill is long and complicated.” Among the things this bill would do is recognize any other state’s concealed carry permit and it would prevent the banning of firearms during times of emergency.

Senate Bill 594 is also aimed at preventing the banning of firearms during times of declared emergencies. Both the provision concerning the banning of firearms during states of emergency contained in HB 650 and SB 594 could have the potential to moot the Bateman case which was brought against North Carolina by the Second Amendment Foundation and Grass Roots North Carolina. As much as I’d like to see the banning of firearms during declared emergencies done away with, I’m not so sure that having the Bateman case mooted is a good thing. As Alan Gura has noted many times in many venues, you only get one chance to get an opinion but you have numerous opportunities to pass legislation. So in terms of what is best for long-term Second Amendment rights, it may be best if the emergency ban issues are put on hold until after Bateman is decided. The case is now fully briefed.

The other firearms related bill is HB 582 – Amend Felony Firearms Act/Increase Penalties. This bill is scheduled for hearings tomorrow before the House Judiciary B Subcommittee. This bill would set the penalty for a felon in possession of a firearm as a Class G felony unless the offense was covered by a higher class of felony. HB 582 would also increase the penalty if the firearm was discharged, if an injury occurred, or if there was a serious bodily injury.

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ISRA Says Anti-Gun Legislators Only Have Themselves To Blame For Lawsuits

May 17, 2011 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association release the following which notes that the failure to pass HB 148 robs the Illinois State Police of money needed to upgrade their background check system and is directly responsible for the lawsuits filed by the NRA, ISRA, and the Second Amendment Foundation.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

Illinois gun control advocates and their allies in the General Assembly delivered a “triple-whammy” against public safety recently when they sabotaged passage of HB148.

Under the provisions of HB148, well-trained, well-qualified Illinois citizens would be permitted to carry defensive firearms to protect themselves and their families from violent criminals. At the same time, HB148 would have provided upwards of $40 million in permit fees to the Illinois State Police to pay for upgrades to the state’s antiquated gun buyer background check system.

But, thanks to the short-sighted efforts of the gun control movement and its friends in the Illinois House, tens of thousands of law-abiding Illinois citizens will continue to suffer at the hands of murderers, robbers and rapists because they cannot lawfully defend themselves. Likewise, the gun control movement can take credit for saddling the state police with a background check system based on software developed in 1959.

Rounding out the triple whammy-against the citizens of Illinois is the fact that the actions of gun control advocates are to blame for a pair of lawsuits filed this week in federal court against the State of Illinois. Both lawsuits – one filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the other filed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the ISRA – contend that the state is damaging law-abiding citizens by prohibiting the carrying of defensive firearms.

In a nut shell, the gun control movement’s efforts the kill HB148 have ensured that Illinois remains one of the most dangerous places to live in the United States. In addition to causing the loss of $40 million for better background checks, the gun control movement is now responsible for Illinois having to shell out millions in taxpayer dollars to pay legal bills related to the SAF and NRA/ISRA lawsuits. Once again, the extremist views of the gun control movement are costing the good people of Illinois dearly.

“The ISRA is very excited about being a plaintiff in the NRA/ISRA lawsuit,” commented ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. “This lawsuit defines the cutting edge of one of the most important questions of the day. That is, does the state have the right to decide who is worth defending and who is not?”

“The fact that two lawsuits have been filed against the State of Illinois this week is proof-positive that this issue is not going to go away,” continued Pearson. “The behind the scenes political gamesmanship that resulted in the scuttling of HB148 has not diminished the resolve of the good people of Illinois. Whether it is in the courts, in the legislature, or at the ballot box, we will relentlessly push forward until the citizen’s right to self defense is restored in Illinois.”

The ISRA is the state’s leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.

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BattleComp For The AK

May 17, 2011 by 2 Comments

Battle Comp Enterprises has developed one of their BattleComp muzzle breaks for the AK. I like my AK-74 and I know the AK family in general has a loyal following. But the AK being the AK, isn’t a BattleComp muzzle break just a little too fancy for an AK? A muzzle break or compensator that cost about 1/3 the cost of the entire rifle just doesn’t make a lot of economic sense to me.

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Head Of Failed Narco-State Lectures Us

May 16, 2011 by

Felipe Calderon, President of Mexico, was interviewed by Charlie Rose last week. He blamed the start of the rise in violence in his country on the end of the Clinton-era Assault Weapons Ban.

Later in the interview El Presidente Calderon notes that the per capital GDP in Mexico has risen from about $3,000 per year to $15,000 since the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) was passed. With the rise in income has come the rise in drug use in Mexico itself. As a result the drug cartels are no longer in just the wholesale export business but have now entered the retail drug trade as well. Calderon admits that much of the current cartel violence is aimed at controlling their distribution territories. By the way, NAFTA was ratified in 1992 – 12 years before the Assault Weapons Ban expired.

Because we refused to renew a gun control bill that never had any impact on crime and because we made the Mexicans a more prosperous people, the violence of the drug cartels and the failure of the Mexican federal government to control their own state is now our fault. Yeah, right.

If Calderon had blamed the rise of the drug cartels and accompanying violence on the passage of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, I might have believed him. With most domestic meth production ended due to the difficulty of getting pseudoephedrine in quantity, the overwhelming majority of the drug now comes from Mexico. This also coincides with the growth of the Mexican cartels and the violence in Mexico.

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A Class Act

May 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

If you have listened to shows like Tom Gresham’s GunTalk or follow competitive pistol shooting, you know the name Rob Leatham. You also know he has won each and every Single Stack National Championship held before 2011. This year he came in second and this is his response that he posted on his Facebook page.

‎2011 Single Stack Nationals are history – in more than one way. Congratulations to Dave Sevigny, who won the match. Dave is the first and only to beat me at the USPSA/Springfield Armory Single Stack Nationals. He shot a great match. Neither of us had a single penalty. I lead through stage 9, and Dave took the lead after the 10th. It was a battle to the very end. My hat’s off to you, Dave.

Rob Leatham is one class act.

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Brady Campaign Continues To Oppose Due Process Of Law

May 16, 2011 by

The Brady Campaign released this highly indignant sounding press release condemning the House Judiciary Committee for preserving Americans’ right to the due process of law.

Brady Campaign Blasts Judiciary Committee’s Vote Against Amendment to Prevent Gun Sales to Terrorists
May 12, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee voted down an amendment to the Patriot Act, offered by Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.-10), to close the “Terror Gap” by giving the Attorney General authority to prevent gun sales to known or suspected terrorists. The Committee voted 21-11 against the Quigley Amendment on a party-line vote. Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued this statement in response to the Committee’s action:

“On the day after two suspected terrorists seeking to buy guns and explosives were arrested in New York City, the House Judiciary Committee, incredibly, voted against an amendment to give the Attorney General the authority to prevent known or suspected terrorists from buying guns. Since 2004, over 1,300 persons on the terrorist watch list have been allowed to purchase firearms or explosives because federal law is so weak that being a known or suspected terrorist is not itself sufficient to prohibit someone from buying guns. The Quigley Amendment would have closed this dangerous ‘Terror Gap.”

Osama bin Laden is dead, but the war on terror is far from over. How can the Congress pretend to be serious about protecting the nation from terrorism, while voting to allow known terrorists to buy guns? The shadow of the gun lobby falls heavily over this disgraceful vote. Is there now a ‘gun exception’ to the war on terror?”

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Not Buying It

May 16, 2011 by

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has an on-line store where they peddle their t-shirts, posters and other trinkets. As in the real world, when customers aren’t buying your crap you tend to lower the sales price. This must explain this Tweat.

@CSGV
Everything in #CSGV store 15% off with code SPRINGSAVING . Enjoy! #p2 #peace http://fb.me/O85alrIi

Meh! Even at 50% off, I doubt most people would buy their trinkets. They certainly aren’t buying their arguments.

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Report On ATF Shotgun Study

May 15, 2011 by 2 Comments

Link at the Peace, Love, Ammunition blog has examined the 516 page document that purports to have ALL the comments received on their “Shotgun Study”. While there are numerous problems with this document – including the publication of personal address information – the worst is what seems to be the deliberate omission of comments.

As Link notes about the comments he submitted:

I downloaded the poorly planned 516 page PDF and immediately searched for a distinct portion of my email address.  It was not found.  I know I submitted an email to the BATF on this matter, and I also knew that I had received an acknowledgment from the ATF confirming receipt of my email.

I searched and found their receipt email which I was initially going to post, but as I dug deeper into the rabbit hole it became less relevant.  Their receipt email was sent to me on 13 May 2011, which struck me as bizarre, since I knew I sent my response to their request for comment prior to attending the NRA Annual Meeting at the end of April 2011.  I searched my sent items and found that I had sent them my thoughts on their “study” on 8 April 2011.

Read the whole report which includes a link to the ATF released comments. The link to the study is below.

Peace, Love, And Ammunition: BATFE Shoutgun “Study”: I Smelled A Rat

UPDATE: According to the ATF label on this file at their website, these are only the responses received up through March 6th.

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BBQ Nirvana

May 15, 2011 by

There are a lot of good BBQ restaurants in this world. There is also a lot of disagreement over barbecue styles and which is best.

True to my Greensboro roots, the place I prefer over all others is Stameys. They have been cooking their Lexington-style BBQ for 80 years. It isn’t a trip to Greensboro unless I get at least one meal at either of the two locations of Stameys.

This is their regular chopped pork plate. It comes with hushpuppies and their vinegar based Cole slaw. It is heaven on the taste buds!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone