From David Burge, the Iowahawk, comes this modest proposal on a way to control the growth of the bureaucracy:
Idea: Fed agency caged death match tournament. Each bureau given regulatory power over the others. Survivor gets shipped to Cuba.
I nominate TSA to be one of the first agencies to be featured in this tournament. Who should be their worthy opponent?
The Governor’s Office finally posted the Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency due to the heavy snow received. It was declared by Lt. Governor Walter Dalton on Christmas Day under the powers granted to him when the Governor is out of the state. It notes that he did this only after consulting Governor Bev Perdue.
Where this order declaring a State of Emergency gets interesting is that it is declared pursuant to the powers vested in the Governor under N.C. General Statutes Article 1 of Chapter 166A. This is the North Carolina Emergency Management Act of 1977. An emergency declared in this manner does not trigger the prohibition on the off-premises possession of firearms and ammunition unlike NCGS 14 § 288.15.
The Executive Order makes specific note that:
This order is adopted pursuant to my powers under Article 1 of Chapter 166A of the General Statutes and not under my authority under Article 36A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. It does not trigger the limitations on weapons in G.S. § 14-288.7 or impose any limitation on the consumption, transportation, sale or purchase of alcoholic beverages.
The previous six States of Emergency declared by Governor Perdue were pursuant to both Chapter 166A (Emergency Management Act) and Article 36A (NCGS 14 § 288.15). The latter is what triggers the ban on firearms off-premises.
When Governor Perdue declared a State of Emergency prior to Hurricane Earl in Executive Order 62 on September 1st, she insisted that it did not impact the possession of firearms off-premises as that would have interfered with the start of dove season. The wording of the current Executive Order with specific references to Article 36A gives lie to that assertion.
In Executive Order 62, Governor Perdue delegated all powers and authority to the Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety that had been granted to her by Chapter 166A and Article 36A of Chapter 14. It did not specifically mention NCGS 14 § 288.15 but that would have been included under Article 36A of Chapter 14.
It looks like someone in Raleigh must finally be getting the message about gun bans during a state of emergency. One can only hope that the newly elected Republican majority in the North Carolina General Assembly will amend the law to prohibit gun bans during emergencies.
Of course Colin Goddard, the assistant director of legislative affairs for the Brady Campaign, is not anti-gun. He is anti-firearm (or rifle). As R. Lee Ermey graphically illustrated in Full Metal Jacket there is a difference. I’m sure that is what Robin meant.
Newsbusters has more on the whole interview between Robin Roberts and Colin Goddard on Good Morning America.
UPDATE: David Codrea examines this interview in his National Gun Rights Examiner column.
Oh, no, Goddard assures her. He’s been hunting. He’s been to the range.
Hell, if shooting is the criteria, gun rights advocates could have no bigger supporter than Lon Horiuchi.
That should be the money quote of the year!
H/T Cam Edwards
Light blogging today as we are leaving Illinois to return home to North Carolina. In a reversal of the usual sequence of events, we’ll be coming from an area with light snow to an area with heavy snow.
It will be good to returning to a somewhat free state. I wonder if Illinois declares statewide states of emergency over a little bit of snow. Somehow, I doubt it.
UPDATE: Home safe and sound. Most of the trip was uneventful with clean, dry roads. That is, until we hit the Pigeon River Gorge on Interstate 40 at the NC-TN state line. It took us at least an hour to travel 20 miles because there was only one lane open. If the left lane had been plowed and salted, it certainly didn’t look like it.
Here we go again.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton declared a state of emergency on Christmas Day for the entire state. He did this after consulting with Gov. Beverly Perdue. The state of emergency was declared due to heavy snow. News reports don’t detail why it was the Lt. Governor who made the declaration and not the Governor. While it is not specified, I am presuming that this state of emergency was declared under authority granted by NCGS 14§ 288.15. Neither the Governor’s nor the Lt. Governor’s website has posted the actual Executive Order declaring the state of emergency.
As most will remember, it was the declaration of a state of emergency by the City of King, Stokes County, and the Governor due to a snow storm which lead to the first post-McDonald case, Bateman et al v. Perdue et al. In North Carolina, a declaration of a state of emergency triggers a ban on off-premises carry of firearms and ammunition. NC Gen. Statues 14§ 288.7 bans transportation and off-premises possession of “dangerous weapons”:
Transporting dangerous weapon or substance during emergency; possessing
off premises; exceptions.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for any person to transport or possess off his own premises any dangerous weapon or substance in any area:
(1) In which a declared state of emergency exists; or
(2) Within the immediate vicinity of which a riot is occurring.
(b) This section does not apply to persons exempted from the provisions of G.S. 14-269
with respect to any activities lawfully engaged in while carrying out their duties.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor. (1969, c. 869, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 192; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)
G.S. 14 § 269 deals with the carrying of concealed weapons. The only exemptions it provides to those “carrying out their duties” involve law enforcement and military personnel. The holder of a NC Concealed Handgun Permit does not have “duties” and therefore could not be considered an “exempted person” under G.S. 14 § 288.7.
Back in September when a state of emergency was declared due to anticipated problems from Hurricane Earl, the Governor’s Office declared that they had structured it so that it would not invoke the ban on off-premises possession of firearms. As I said then and I will say now, nothing in the law allows the Governor (or Lt. Governor) to arbitrarily decide which part of a law will be valid or not.
Since coming into office in January 2009, Governor Bev Perdue has declared seven states of emergency. Three have been snow or winter storm related, three have been due to tropical storms or hurricanes, and one was due to a rockslide which closed Interstate 40 in Haywood County.
It is interesting to contrast her use of state of emergency powers with that of her predecessor Mike Easley. In his eight years in office, Easley declared 25 states of emergency. Most of Easley’s declarations were combined with declaring a state of disaster and, more importantly, were limited to the locale where the problem existed. They did not extend statewide. The exceptions were the back to back years of multiple major hurricanes hitting the state in 2004-2005. Finally, he only declared a state of emergency due to snow once in those eight years.
All I can say is that if you are carrying concealed or are traveling with a firearm in your vehicle, be careful.
UPDATE: See my post on the Executive Order proclaiming a state of emergency.
After have just watched Ralphie finally get his Daisy Red Ryder on TV, I came across this. Don’t shoot your eye out Ralphie!
A very Merry Christmas to one and all.
I’m surprised that the Brady Campaign, Code Pink, or any of their fellow-traveling friends hasn’t tried to outlaw this yet. Those papercuts can be deadly!
The Senate adjourned on December 22nd. With that adjournment, the nomination of Andrew Traver to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives fell by the wayside. The Senate neither voted to confirm nor deny his appointment so if Obama still wants Traver as Director of ATF he will need to resubmit his name to the Senate.
According to the Congressional Research Service:
Nominations Returned to the President
Nominations that are not confirmed or rejected are returned to the President at the end of a session or when the Senate adjourns or recesses for more than 30 days (Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6). If the President still wants a nominee considered, he must submit a new nomination to the Senate. The Senate can, however, waive this rule by unanimous consent, and it often does to allow nominations to remain “in status quo” between the first and second sessions of a Congress. The majority leader or his designee also may exempt specific nominees by name from the unanimous consent agreement, allowing them to be returned during the recess or adjournment.
Checking the Congressional Record (page S11071) for December 22nd, Andrew Traver’s nomination was specifically mentioned as being returned to the President. Along with him were a number of other nominations including many judicial nominations.
The website, Main Justice, first reported on this yesterday, noting that Traver had faced “strong opposition from the National Rifle Association.” David Codrea notes that we are not out of the woods yet in his Gun Rights Examiner column.
Gun owners dodged a bullet—but only one. Without individual senators, including nominally “pro-gun” Democrats, taking a stand and publicly opposing Traver, and without them pledging further opposition and consequences if Obama attempts a recess appointment end run, we’re not out of the woods yet.
Joe Huffman at the View from North Central Idaho offered this wry assessment of the situation.
I think this means we will have a more gun friendly Senate to review Traver’s background with the
KlanJoyce Foundation.
Two questions remain regarding Andrew Traver. First, will Obama renominate him now that Rahm Emanuel is no longer Chief of Staff? As reported earlier, Emanuel was the person in the Obama White House who was pushing Traver. Without Rahm as his champion, is the controversy over Traver worth it to Obama?
The second question is whether Obama is so committed to sticking it to us “bitter clingers” that he will make Traver a recess appointment. He has until 11:59am on January 5, 2011 to make that decision. My gut reaction is that he punts and there won’t be a recess appointment. The Brady Bunch and their ilk are just not worth the bad will that would ensue.
Editorials in the New York Times are known for their hyperbole when it comes to firearms. Today’s editorial entitled Cartel Gunmen Buy American goes even further. In an effort to bolster support for ATF’s proposed “emergency” and “temporary” semi-automatic rifle reporting requirement for multiple purchases, they use words like body count, carnage, war weapons, and gun lobby. However, after seeing one too many repeat showings of The Untouchables, they have outdone themselves.
…with use of high- power long guns more than doubling in the past five years as cartel gunmen turn to the rat-a-tat annihilators easily obtainable across the border.
Who writes this stuff? Moreover, who reads it without rolling on the floor laughing?
The rest of the editorial tries to make the case that “AK-47s and other battlefield assault rifles” are being sold by dealers along the Mexican border to the narco-terrorists and that it is only right-wing Republicans, cowed Democrats afraid of the “gun lobby”, and the National Rifle Association itself that stands in the way of “courageous” legislation that would make the proposed requirement law. They even ask Obama to ignore Congress and just issue an Executive Order. This, of course, would modify the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986.
We know, of course, that “battlefield assault rifles” are covered under the National Firearms Act of 1934 and require a tax stamp, background investigation, and that no new automatic weapons can be sold to non-LEO, non-military since the Hughes Amendment of 1986. The bulk of the real automatic weapons in Mexico, if U.S. made, are coming from Mexican Army arsenals sold by corrupt and/or fearful Army officials. As for the full-automatic AKs, the fine hand of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and Eastern Bloc gun merchants can be seen in that.
That’s the reality of the situation which is completely and obviously ignored in this editorial.
The KitUp Blog posted this video today of Russian special forces engaged in urban operations – presumably counter-terrorism. Virtually all of their AK’s were equipped with what looked like an EoTech holographic optic. They also have some very interesting mounts for these optics. While I’m sure LaRue Tactical has nothing to worry about, I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on a set to use with my AK-74.
As they note in the KitUp blog, they don’t know whether these are real or knock-offs of EoTechs. Given that the EoTech optic is a controlled item, it would be interesting to know if they are indeed real just who approved their export to Russia. As you can see by EoTech’s disclaimer below, they require export licenses. Perhaps this is what Hillary meant by hitting the “Re-Set Button”.
This Holographic Weapon Sight must be exported from the United States in accordance with Export Administration Regulations ECCN 0A987. Diversion contrary to U.S. law is prohibited. In accordance with U.S. law (Title 15 CFR part 746 and Supplement No. 1 to Part 774; and Title 31 CFR) resale/re-export or transfer of Holographic Weapon Sight Models 552, 551, 512, 511, 4X magnifier and 3X magnifier to certain designated countries is prohibited without prior written consent of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Holographic Weapon Sight Models 553, 557 and 555 are controlled under U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and may not be exported without proper authorization by the U.S. Department of State.
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