gun control

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Witness Slips Needed In Illinois – I

April 17, 2018 by

Both Illinois Carry and the Illinois State Rifle Association have issued alerts for anti-gun bills that are coming up this week in the Illinois General Assembly.

From Illinois Carry:

Emergency Action Alert!
Witness Slips Needed!
Moments ago, HB1470 Criminal Law Tech was added to the House Judiciary – Criminal Committee Schedule for the April 17 hearing.  Amendment 1 (HFA1) prohibits transfers of more than one gun per month, and establishes penalties for possession with intent to transfer.
Please express your immediate disapproval of  this bill and amendment by filing witness slips opposing it.
Remember to log in to your account first, if you have one!
In order to avoid completing each field manually, at the top right  Log on  to your ILGA Dashboard or  Create a New Account  if you haven’t already created one, then return to this email and click on the links for each witness slip.
Witness slips can be tracked here:
Senate & House – Sustain the SB1657 Veto!
Continue to call your State Senators and State Representatives in their Springfield offices. Remind them that you oppose SB1657 Gun Dealer Licensing, described by the Chicago Tribune as “government overreach”.
Ask them to sustain Governor Rauner’s veto.
House – Oppose Concurrence Votes!
While speaking with your state representatives remind them to oppose the changes made in the Senate to HB772 Lethal Violence Order of Protection, HB1465 “Assault Weapon Age 21, and HB1467 Preemption Repeal.
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There Oughta Be A Law

March 28, 2018 by 4 Comments

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The realists among us realize that no new law and no new prohibition will ever stop the evil, the criminal, and/or the deranged from perpetrating evil, criminal, or deranged acts. Laws only impact the law-abiding among us. Moreover, if you enact enough laws and criminalize enough things, we all become law breakers. Harvey Silverglate covered this in his book Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent. Likewise, the Instapundit, Prof. Glenn Reynolds, wrote a paper on this called Ham Sandwich Nation which plays off the remark by Judge Sol Wachter that a grand jury could be convinced to indict a ham sandwich.

Examining this in the context of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, we have seen innumerable calls for new gun control laws along with calls for destruction and confiscation of certain firearms. I wrote yesterday about the introduction of a bill by Sen. Richard “I served in Vietnam (not!) Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) that would close the so-called ammo loophole. None of these proposed laws will or would have stopped a determined person intent on harming school children or anyone else. One need merely look to the recent spate of bombings in Austin wherein an individual using readily available ingredients and information gleaned from the Internet killed and maimed a number of people. Homemade explosive devices are already illegal as is murder.

Science fiction novelist and commentator Sarah Hoyt penned a very interesting piece on PJ Media yesterday entitled Of Laws And Men. She examined this whole notion that a new law will actually change behavior. It is part of the whole fanatical belief in a society organized by the numbers from the top-down. She points out that this is the way that society was organized in Communist countries but yet you still had black markets as people needed to survive.

Looking at all the new laws being proposed post-Parkland, she concluded:

They’re by and large decent people – the followers, not the leaders – who really want everyone to live in harmony, and since they wouldn’t dream of breaking laws, then it must be a matter of finding the right law to fix everything.

Only the world is not full of people who are terrified of breaking laws, and all their piling on of laws against gun owners does is leave the law-abiding defenseless before the lawless.

To have these people learn the error of their ways in a practical fashion will only destroy the world for the rest of us. And besides, judging from Europe, they’ll never learn. They’ll just refuse to admit their plan failed and pile on more laws and more regulatory bodies, till someone’s whole job is regulating the curvature of a banana. (You only wish that were euphemistic.)

So we need to educate them. We need to educate them better when they’re younger. We need to teach them history and psychology. Not the stuff edited by their own luminaries, who are as blinkered as they are, but real history and real psychology. And we need to teach them how humans are now and have always been lawless animals. We can’t be tamed, we can’t be domesticated, and even in the most oppressive regimes devised there will never be enough to make everyone obey. There are dissidents even in places where dissidence costs you your life. There are black markets where the regimes punish them and spend most of their time suppressing them. Because when the alternative is death, humans are really good at breaking the law.

So all laws passed, everywhere affect only the law-abiding. And even the law-abiding stop being so when life is at stake.

The answer to “Your gun is now illegal” is always, in practicality “Says you and whose army?” and “Come and get it!”

She’s right. We need to educate them. I suggest it would be five minutes of your time well spent to read her entire essay.

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Loophole Here, Loophole There, Everything’s A Freaking Loophole

March 27, 2018 by 6 Comments

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When dealing with the enemies of freedom everything they don’t approve of is a loophole.

Internet loophole? Check.

Gun show loophole? Check.

Background check loophole? Check.

Sen. Richard “I served in Vietnam (not!)” Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) have come up with a new loophole that MUST be closed. That is the ammunition sale loophole. To that end, they have introduced the Ammunition Background Check Act (S.2627 / HR 5383) The bill would require instant background checks for the purchase of ammunition.

Excerpts from their joint press release:

“Ammunition sales should be subject to the same legal requirements as firearm sales, and that includes instant background checks. The same laws that prevent dangerous individuals from purchasing firearms also prohibit them from amassing arsenals of ammunition, with one major loophole: there are no background checks for ammunition sales to enforce the law. Closing this ludicrous loophole is a common sense component of a comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence,” said Blumenthal.


“This common-sense legislation simply enforces existing federal law, and will make it harder for criminals to amass hundreds of rounds of ammunition without so much as sharing their first name with a gun store clerk,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Closing this absurd loophole will not by itself stop the next mass shooting tragedy. But this popular approach must be part of our larger strategy for ending gun violence. Studies show it can help keep ‘bad guys with guns’ from perpetrating another mass slaughter like the one we witnessed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in my Broward County community, or the thousands of other acts of gun violence that devastate communities across the country. It takes more than just a gun to take an innocent life. It also takes bullets. We need to do all we can to make sure neither of them ends up in the wrong hands.”

There are enough gun control buzzwords in those two paragraphs that you would be an automatic winner in buzzword bingo!

While the bill text is not yet available, their release indicates that the purchase of ammo would be through a FFL who would be required to do a NICS check or, if the seller was not licensed, then the seller would have to have a FFL conduct the NICS check. Since I don’t have the bill text yet, there is no word whether or not components would be require background checks.

If components are not regulated (and they should not be), then the enemies of freedom will have multiple new loopholes to rail about: the smokeless powder loophole, the brass loophole, the primer loophole, etc., etc.

For those not old enough to remember, after the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968 all ammunition sales including .22 rimfire ammo were required to be logged into a bound book. The requirement for .22 rimfire ammo sale logging was repealed in 1982. Finally, the Firearms Owner Protection Act of 1986 finally repealed the requirement that ammo sales be logged in a bound book. The repeal of that requirement was supported by the ATF as they said it had little law enforcement value. While Bluementhal and Wasserman-Schultz quote a number of academics in support of their bill, they don’t quote anyone in law enforcement which is telling.

This is a ridiculous bill brought by two ridiculous legislators. It should be relegated to the scrapheap of history just like they should.

H/T  The Captain’s Journal

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There Is Neutral And Then There Is Delta Neutral

March 25, 2018 by 6 Comments

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Back in February, Delta Airlines discontinued the airfare discount for NRA members. They did this in the face of a campaign by gun control groups to get corporations to end any and all discounts for NRA members.
Here is what they said at the time on their website in the way of explanation:

Delta’s decision reflects the airline’s neutral status in the current national debate over gun control amid recent school shootings. Out of respect for our customers and employees on both sides, Delta has taken this action to refrain from entering this debate and focus on its business. Delta continues to support the 2nd Amendment.


This is not the first time Delta has withdrawn support over a politically and emotionally charged issue. Last year, Delta withdrew its sponsorship of a theater that staged a graphic interpretation of “Julius Caesar” depicting the assassination of President Trump. Delta supports all of its customers but will not support organizations on any side of any highly charged political issue that divides our nation.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian went a bit further the next week in a memo to Delta employees as reported by the Washington Post.

Caught in a maelstrom over his company’s decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association, Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian said Friday that his intention had been to “remain neutral” and “remove Delta from this [gun control] debate.” Delta, he said, is now planning to end discounts “for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

He went on to say:

“Our people and our customers have a wide range of views on how to increase safety in our schools and public places, and we are not taking sides,” he wrote. “Our objective in removing any implied affiliation with the NRA was to remove Delta from this debate.”

The key words you keep hearing from Delta are “neutral status”, “not taking sides”, and “refrain from entering this debate”. That was what Ed Bastian and Delta were saying at the beginning of the month.

So what did they do in light of today’s gun control march?

Delta Air Lines has donated three round-trip charter flights that allowed hundreds of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students to participate in the “March for Our Lives” protest against gun violence in Washington.

Delta said the donation is “part of our commitment to supporting the communities we serve.”

 Ed Bastian and Delta Air Lines must be suffering a bout of cognitive dissonance if they think ending a discount for NRA members and then giving three round-trip charter flights to students advocating gun control is neutrality. These actions are about the furthest thing from neutrality that I could imagine.

My last flight with Delta will be in May to attend the NRA Annual Meeting. That ticket was paid for before the change in Delta policy and it is non-refundable. Over the last 20 or so years, 90% or more of my air travel has been on Delta. No more.

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The Gun Collective Responds To YouTube

March 22, 2018 by 2 Comments

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The Gun Collective is a YouTube channel devoted to all things firearms including firearms law. Adam Kraut, whom I have endorsed for the NRA Board of Directors, is part of The Gun Collective. I ran into these guys at Industry Day at the Range while at the SHOT Show. They were creating video content for their YouTube channel.

As you might expect, they will be massively impacted by the new YouTube policy singling out firearms for special rules. In response, they made this video which has been viewed over 255,000 times on Facebook and over 58,000 times on YouTube. Their YouTube channel has over 125,000 subscribers.

One thing I’ve started doing is reporting pro-gun control videos as offensive. For example, Everytown had a video pushing North Carolina’s pistol purchase permit system. I reported it as supporting Jim Crow laws conceived by white surpremacist Democrats which is totally correct. You might find other videos from Brady, Giffords, the Demanding Mommies, or Everytown which you find incorrect or offensive. Report them. It may seem trite but it is time we went on the offensive and started calling them on their lies. Their goal is nothing less than the destruction of the gun culture and I’m not going to stand by and do nothing.

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For Those In Florida

March 21, 2018 by

Last year, Florida Carry got some grief from Marion Hammer and the NRA due to their stance on some bills in the Florida legislature. Notwithstanding that – and showing that they are united in their support of gun rights – they have passed on the following alert from the NRA and Marion Hammer. I think it shows class on their part.

The alert concerns a move by the anti-gun forces to diminish gun rights in Florida through putting constitutional amendments on the ballot. One need only looks at the moves by Bloomberg and Everytown to force so-called universal background checks through referenda. They succeeded in Washington and Nevada but failed in Maine.

From Florida Carry:

ALERT: Anti-gun CRC Members Want Gun Bans in the Florida Constitution

DATE: March 19, 2018
TO:      USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
            USF Executive Director
            NRA Past President
ACTION NEEDED NOW


Some
of the members of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC)
are very anti-gun and they are proposing and pushing gun ban and gun
control amendments to put in the Florida Constitution.

Commissioners will be voting on these amendment soon. Links to these amendments are listed at the bottom.

Among these amendments are:

*An
“assault weapons” ban which bans the distribution, sale, transfer, and
possession of so-called assault weapons and any detachable magazine that
has a capacity of more than 9 rounds.  (Makes possession illegal with
no compensation provided for those already possessed that must be
surrendered) 

*A
ban on any semi-automatic rifle that is able to accept a detachable
magazine or has a fixed magazine capable of holding more than10 rounds.
(that means almost all semi-automatic rifles)

*A
ban on the sale and transfer of “assault weapons” and defines
“transfer” as the conveyance “from a person or entity to another person
or entity WITHOUT any conveyance of money or other valuable
consideration.”  (Note: to “convey” between persons without compensation
could mean the simple act of handing the firearm to another person
while hunting, on the range, or anywhere)

*A 10 day waiting period (excluding weekends and legal holidays) on all firearms to facilitate a background check.

*A ban on the purchase of any firearm by a person under 21 years of age. 

*A ban on the sale, transfer and possession of bump stocks and other devises, tools, kits, etc. 

Please email CRC Commissioners and tell them to OPPOSE gun control amendments!

PLEASE DO IT NOW !!! They could be voting on these amendments at anytime


IN THE SUBJECT LINE PUT:  

VOTE AGAINST GUN CONTROL AMENDMENTS

(To send your message to all just Block and Copy All email addresses into the “Send To” box)

(Depending on you email program you may need to add commas or semicolons between each email) 

jose.armas@flcrc.gov
pam.bondi@flcrc.gov
lisa.carlton@flcrc.gov
timothy.cerio@flcrc.gov
hank.coxe@flcrc.gov
jose.diaz@flcrc.gov
erika.donalds@flcrc.gov
don.gaetz@flcrc.gov
emery.gainey@flcrc.gov
anna.gamez@flcrc.gov
brecht.heuchan@flcrc.gov
marva.johnson@flcrc.gov
darlene.jordan@flcrc.gov
arthenia.joyner@flcrc.gov
fred.karlinsky@flcrc.gov
belinda.keiser@flcrc.gov
frank.kruppenbacher@flcrc.gov
tom.lee@flcrc.gov
gary.lester@flcrc.gov
patricia.levesque@flcrc.gov
roberto.martinez@flcrc.gov
rich.newsome@flcrc.gov
chris.nocco@flcrc.gov
jeanette.nunez@flcrc.gov
jimmy.patronis@flcrc.gov
sherry.plymale@flcrc.gov
darryl.rouson@flcrc.gov
william.schifino@flcrc.gov
chris.smith@flcrc.gov
bob.solari@flcrc.gov
chris.sprowls@flcrc.gov
john.stemberger@flcrc.gov
pam.stewart@flcrc.gov
jacqui.lippisch@flcrc.gov
carolyn.timmann@flcrc.gov
nicole.washington@flcrc.gov

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS:
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For My Friends In Arizona

March 21, 2018 by

What is it with Republican governors in retirement havens? First there was Rick Scott (R-FL) going all squishy in Florida. Now it seems Doug Docey (R-AZ) is going squishy as well.

Arizona Citizens Defense League has the details in this alert:

Action Alert

Today, Governor Ducey revealed his “Safer Arizona Schools” gun control plan.  We posted a copy on our website. 
Caution!  You may want to wrap your head with duct tape to prevent it
from exploding when you read it.  It looks like a propaganda piece from
one of Bloomberg’s Astroturf groups.  Odds are they had a big hand in
writing it.

The good news is that many in the Legislature aren’t all that excited
about what they see in the Governor’s plan either.  The dream of
suspending all the rules and ramming this through without anyone
noticing has evaporated.  We’re now hearing that the Governor’s proposal
may be broken into a few smaller bills with the hope that at least one
will get to his desk.  That tells us we have a shot at ending this
altogether.

The even better news is that your emails are having an effect.  After
receiving over 11,000 of your emails they know we’re watching and we
have their attention.  We can’t let up.  Your legislators need to hear
from you that there is NO acceptable “gun control.”

If you have already sent an email to your legislators, please do it again. 
If you have not yet sent an email, what are you waiting for?  If you
are willing to fight for your rights, we’ve done most of the work for
you by preparing the email to send to your legislators.  All you need to
do is click on the link above, follow instructions and click your mouse
button a couple more times.

Your
legislators need to hear from you, letting them know that you are still
paying attention and expecting them to support your rights.  Send your email today!

Along with that alert is another one asking supporters in Arizona to send both letters and RTS (request to speak) notices to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of two pro-2A bills being pushed by AzCDL. These bills will die if they don’t pass out of committee this week.

On
Thursday, March 22, the Senate Judiciary Committee will debate
AzCDL-requested bills HB 2211 and HB 2212.  If these bills don’t pass
out of committee this week, they are dead for the session.  The deadline
for House bills to be heard in Senate committees (and vice versa) is
Friday, March 23.

HB 2211 would add a personal exemption for firearms to the state’s
bankruptcy statutes.  Currently there is no specific bankruptcy
exemption for personal firearms.

HB 2212 would eliminate the restriction that only Arizona peace officers
cannot be prohibited from carrying firearms in Arizona.  The proposed
law would extend “shall not be prohibited” to any law enforcement
officer employed by any jurisdiction (federal, tribal, state, local,
etc.) in the U.S.

Since this is the last chance for these bills to get a committee hearing, we going for a double whammy – RTS and a letter to the committee.

If you have a valid and active RTS account, please log in here https://apps.azleg.gov/ and keep your browser open.  Then, click on the links below to register your support for each bill.

For HB 2211 go here: https://apps.azleg.gov/RequestToSpeak/New/102305 .

For HB 2212 go here: https://apps.azleg.gov/RequestToSpeak/New/102316 .

If you do not have an RTS account, or even if you do,
please click on the links below to send your emails to all the
committee members telling them to support these bills during the
committee hearing.

For HB 2211 go here to send your email to the committee:
http://cqrcengage.com/azcdl/app/take-action?engagementId=453514 .

For HB 2212 go here to send your email to the committee:
http://cqrcengage.com/azcdl/app/take-action?engagementId=453653 .

Thanks for taking the time to make a difference! 

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GRNC Alert About Legislative School Safety Meeting

March 19, 2018 by

As a follow-up to my earlier post regarding the meeting on Wednesday of the NC Joint Legislative Committee on School Safety, here is an alert from Grass Roots North Carolina with more information and a request to email committee members if you can’t attend.

HELP DEVELOP NC’S SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN
Wednesday, state legislators are hearing arguments that will inform life-and-death decisions regarding school security. Please be there … 
This Meeting Needs Your Voice
At the state legislature, the House Select Committee on School Safety will be meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 AM. There may be opportunities for public comments, and it is critical that this not be a one-sided discussion. We all know that the anti-gun-rights crowd will have people there to demand policies that will only make things worse. Due to the deadly serious nature of this topic, ineffective, feel-good schemes cannot be allowed to take hold. Please make every effort to attend these meetings. Below, find details on the upcoming meetings.

Gun-free Zones: the Psychotic-Killer Loophole
The most effective way to reduce mass public shootings is for our elected officials to wise up and eliminate dangerous gun-free zones (GFZs). Documented evidence tells us that criminals and psychotics carefully choose GFZs to commit their heinous acts, because they know they will not be met with timely armed resistance.

All but two of U.S. mass shootings since 1950 have occurred in so-called
“gun-free” zones.
That’s 98%!
Along with improved security provisions, such as fewer unlocked entrances and generally beefed up security, the most effective way to protect school children is to proclaim that any attack will likely be met with rapid armed resistance from an unpredictable source; that source would be teachers and other school personnel. 

Remove the Shackles
Of course, teachers who do not want to carry defensive weapons should not be required to. However, the shackles must be removed from those willing to mount effective resistance should the worst occur. Some seem very concerned about teachers using weapons during a dire emergency, but consider the alternative: bullets flying in only one direction and resulting in the deaths of many innocent and helpless people. Any objection to evening those odds seems entirely unreasonable. Let’s demand that legislators close the psychotic-killer loophole!



IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
  • EMAIL THE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS: CLICK HERE to generate one of two email messages, and then CLICK HERE to send an email to the other half of the committee Republicans. After each click, check your email program. An email should have been generated for you. Simply add you name to the bottom and hit ‘send.’ 
(This ‘click’ method likely won’t work with gmail. Please use the delivery method/information listed under ‘Deliver This Message‘ if using gmail).
    If an email was not generated automatically, or wasn’t generated properly, send the email using the copy/paste email list and the copy/paste text provided below, under ‘Deliver This Message.’
  • ATTEND THE SCHOOL SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING: It’s critical that the public be involved in these meetings, especially because it’s the safety of the citizenry’s own children that is being debated. Practical and effective solutions from concerned citizens like you must be discussed, and ought to dominate the conversation. But without you there to speak, or at least to support the speakers by your presence, that may not happen. Please attend. Find the meeting details below. 
MEETING DETAILS:
WHAT: House Select Committee on School Safety
WHEN: Wednesday, March 21, 9:00 AM (arrive an hour early if possible)
WHERE:
Legislative Office Building, Rm. 643
300 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC
(directions: https://www.ncleg.net/help/directions.html)
   
NOTES: Dress for the press. Please dress professionally with no inflammatory slogans or the like on clothing.
  Arrive early. To deal with any parking issues, and to make sure you get a seat. Arriving at least one hour early is recommended.

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Copy/Paste email List(s): 
Allen.McNeill@ncleg.net, Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net, Brenden.Jones@ncleg.net, Chris.Malone@ncleg.net, Cody.Henson@ncleg.net, Craig.Horn@ncleg.net, Dana.Bumgardner@ncleg.net, David.Lewis@ncleg.net, Donna.White@ncleg.net, Donny.Lambeth@ncleg.net, Harry.Warren@ncleg.net, Holly.Grange@ncleg.net, Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net, Jason.Saine@ncleg.net, Jeffrey.Elmore@ncleg.net,

Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net, John.Bell@ncleg.net, John.Faircloth@ncleg.net, John.Torbett@ncleg.net, Josh.Dobson@ncleg.net, Justin.Burr@ncleg.net, Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net, Larry.Strickland@ncleg.net, Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net, Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net, Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net, Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net, Stephen.Ross@ncleg.net, Ted.Davis@ncleg.net

*Due to the limitations of some email programs and some spam filtering systems, it may be best to send this email in multiple groups. Use the copy/paste emails above, as separated into groups, to send the message to the respective set of recipients.
Suggested Subject: 
“For School Safety: End Gun-Free Zones”  
Dear Committee Member:

I am writing today in reference to your service on the House Select Committee on School Safety.

Since the recent disturbing events in Florida, all the usual gun-control voices have called for all the usual ineffective and unconstitutional schemes. None of these useless and ominous notions are acceptable, and I insist that you not lend them credence during your upcoming committee meetings. I do expect you to discuss school security concepts that are actually effective and will truly result in the protection of school children.

Removing the shackles from school employees who have concealed handgun permits would be the simplest and most effective solution. The legislature could do this almost immediately by removing the dangerous gun-free zone (GFZ) status from school buildings and grounds. Teachers and other school staff are no danger to students. If they were, we wouldn’t allow them unfettered, daily access to our children. Yet, the threat of swift armed resistance from an unpredictable source is a highly effective deterrent. This is why a full 98% of all mass public shooting since 1950 have occurred in so-called “gun-free” zones. Should the worst occur, teachers defending their students with deadly force is not such a terrible thing when you imagine the alternative. Indeed, no imagination is necessary, as recent events have shown us exactly what the alternative looks like.

A large number of teachers are already willing and ready for classroom carry. A recent Elon University Poll of North Carolina teachers (which skewed heavily Democrat) revealed that roughly 20% of teachers are open to the idea of concealed handguns in the classroom. Consider that the number of every day citizens who legally carry a gun in our state is something less than 10%. This means the number of teachers willing to consider classroom carry is at least twice the number in the general population who already carry a handgun. This is great news, and further evidence that dangerous GFZs have run their course. 

Our children’s very lives are at stake. I demand that your time on the School Safety committee be used to consider and implement only practical and effective policies. I will be monitoring your actions on this matter through Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully, 

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NC School Safety Committee’s First Meeting

March 19, 2018 by

The North Carolina Joint Legislative Committee on School Safety will have its first meeting this Wednesday in Raleigh. Here are some of the details:


What:
 
The School Safety Committee’s first meeting


Where:
 
Room 643 of the Legislative Office Building in Raleigh.


When:
  Wednesday, March 21st at 9am to
Noon, lunch then resume at 2pm

I can assure you that those opposed to allowing teachers to make the choice to be armed will be there.

The Bloomberg-funded North Carolinians Against Gun Violence (sic) is organizing its volunteers to be there. While there is no mention of a pre-hearing preparation session, I wouldn’t be surprised if one is planned so as to coordinate their arguments for making children less safe in the name of safety. You can also be assured that they will fill the room with people wearing orange or red t-shirts with their slogans on it.

The NEA’s NC affiliate, North Carolina Association of Educators, has come out against allowing teachers to be armed according to ABC Channel 11 Raleigh. I fully expect their lobbyists to be there.

The North Carolina Association of Educators argues teachers want to be armed with books and technology, not guns.


“It’s a dangerous prospect to put out there and we would surely hope that the General Assembly would not even entertain that idea of arming teachers in North Carolina, but we will fight back if it does come forward,” said NCAE President Mark Jewell.

As Tom Gresham made clear on this past Sunday’s Gun Talk Radio, sitting back is no longer a viable option. We need to show up – in shirts and ties – and make the case for allowing teachers who choose to be to be armed. If we don’t, our children and grandchildren will continue to be at risk in their officially gun-free zones. Those who oppose allowing teachers and administrators being armed will be there with emotional arguments, extraneous examples, and their orange/red t-shirts.

We may have the better solutions and arguments but they are better at packing hearings with their supporters. They understand optics better than we do. They and their media allies will run with that.

So, if you can be in Raleigh this coming Wednesday, please attend this meeting. To steal an argument from the gun prohibitionists, do it for the children!

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Ludicrous Posturing

March 16, 2018 by 6 Comments

It is like little kids posturing on the school yard. One kid says something and the other kid says, “Yeah? Well, I did that and this too!” So it is with politicians and firearms especially if they have D after their name.

The latest extreme example of this comes from my home state of North Carolina. Rep. Rodney Moore (R-Mecklenburg) says he’ll introduce a bill to raise the legal age to purchase a rifle to age 21.

Here is his rationale as reported by WRAL:

Rep. Rodney Moore said he didn’t need to look any further than the faces of the victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to know change was necessary.


“[They’re] very tragic examples of where we’ve become as a society in letting weapons of war be distributed on our streets,” Moore said.

 His bill would per the usual exempt law enforcement, firefighters, and members of the military.

You are probably saying, “So what! Lots of people have said they want to raise the age to 21.”

Ah, but it gets better.

Penalties for using rifles to commit a crime in places like a school or public building would increase and the law would require a 90-day waiting period to purchase guns.

“We need to go through a thorough criminal background check. We need to do a mental evaluation and that is why we need the waiting period,” Moore said.

In a statement of extreme irony, Moore concludes by saying he supports the Second Amendment.

Moore said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment, but does not feel his proposal violates anybody’s rights.


“What it is doing is enhancing the safety of that particular amendment,” he said. “When the Second Amendment was written into the Constitution, the founding fathers had no idea how technology, how weapons would change.”

 Raise the age to 21, add a 90-day waiting period, insist on a mental evaluation, AND say you are doing it to enhance the “safety” of the Second Amendment. In terms of political posturing that is going to be hard to beat.