About That Secession Petition You Signed…

In the aftermath of the election, secession petitions for all fifty states (and maybe for the rest of the 57 as well) have sprung up on the White House’s petition website and over 800,000 signatures have been collected. There is also a counter-petition asking that anyone who has signed such a secession petition be declared a traitor and then be hung, drawn, and quartered with the remains scattered to the four corners of the earth. Actually, I’m kidding about that last little bit but the true believers are asking for signees to be declared traitors.

In the midst of all of this has come the Department of Defense’s Defense Security Service. They are the agency at DOD charged with managing the Secret, Top Secret, and other such security clearances for defense contractors. A few days ago, they issued a notice regarding the secession petitions and whether signing one would be considered a reportable event for contractors.


November 16, 2012

DSS personnel have recently received questions from security personnel at cleared contractors about whether contractors should file adverse information reports pursuant to NISPOM paragraph 1-302 regarding cleared persons who sign petitions to allow a state to withdraw or secede from the United States.

It also appears that erroneous statements have been made to the effect that DSS is directing contractors to treat the signing of such petitions as reportable adverse information.

Please note that DSS has not provided any approved direction or guidance. DSS is not directing any contractor to file adverse information reports regarding persons who have signed secession or withdrawal petitions. This issue is under review and DSS will provide information to contractors when that review is complete.

So while they aren’t requiring defense contractors to report employees who has signed such petitions yet, they are still studying the situation. David Martosko of The Daily Caller has more on this story.

David Codrea has written on some of the implications for gun owners of signing these secession petitions at the National Gun Rights Examiner. His advice is to not sign any of these petitions. While it may not equate with renunciation of your citizenship which is a disqualifying event for gun purchases, I wouldn’t put anything past the Obama Administration. When it comes to being vindictive and petty, they could have given Richard Nixon lessons.

As SayUncle Would Say – Winning!

The Gallup Poll released a report today showing that self-reported gun ownership is at the highest level in 18 years. Currently, 47% of American households report that they have either a firearm in their home or somewhere else on their property. This is an increase from last year when only 41% of homes reported a firearm.

The bottom line according to Gallup is this:

A clear societal change took place regarding gun ownership in the early 1990s, when the percentage of Americans saying there was a gun in their home or on their property dropped from the low to mid-50s into the low to mid-40s and remained at that level for the next 15 years. Whether this reflected a true decline in gun ownership or a cultural shift in Americans’ willingness to say they had guns is unclear. However, the new data suggest that attitudes may again be changing. At 47%, reported gun ownership is the highest it has been in nearly two decades — a finding that may be related to Americans’ dampened support for gun-control laws. However, to ensure that this year’s increase reflects a meaningful rebound in reported gun ownership, it will be important to see whether the uptick continues in future polling.

While gun ownership is highest among men, Republicans, and Southerners, what is most interesting to me is not that there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans but that self-identified Democrats or Democrat-leaning who report having a firearm rose from 32% to 40%. (See graph on gun ownership by Party ID.) This would correlate strongly with what Sebastian reported earlier about support for a handgun-ban being at record lows.

Gun Ownership In Other Countries

Cam Edwards interviewed David Tipple, the owner of Gun City in New Zealand. The gun prohibitionists in that country are upset that the store is having a promotion for Father’s Day in which one gun will be sold for one New Zealand dollar.

The most interesting thing about the interview is when Mr. Tipple described how only licensed gun owners are allowed to purchase firearms in New Zealand. He compared their license to an American driver’s license except that to obtain one you must a police background check which includes interviews with your family and your neighbors, an inspection of your home, and an inspection of your gun safe. When you hear what people have to do in other countries in order to possess a firearm, you give thanks for the farsightedness of our forefathers when they adopted the Second Amendment.