Sometimes the writing is on the wall...

And as clear as day:

...and by making me purchase hunting ammunition for target practice, it'll cost me $1 or $2/round every time I goto the range... eventually I'll stop going. Eventually the next generation will lose interest in such an expensive hobby. Its essentially putting a "poll tax" on exercising a right, and eliminating the next generation of shooters and hunters...and its not acceptable.

Not acceptable to you, but perfectly acceptable to the gun control lobby. I'd even go so far as to say that's their goal. To legislate shooting into nonexistence or at least make into a wealthy man's hobby, like yachting or private aircraft.

Or if you prefer it from the horse's mouth:

And as to expense, since guns and ammunition are lethal and kill people, I think they should be expensive. Cigarettes and alcohol are expensive. Maybe it will discourage some folks from buying them.

Those folks who horde guns and ammo? Maybe they aren't so crazy. Buy it cheap, stack it deep.

The numbers don't lie.

Taken from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report (Table 2):

Murder is down across the board. Murder is down in every region... Except the Northeast. The same Northeast where you have the Brady Campaign's top ranked states like New Jersey and New York. And where is murder down the most? In the South where you have the Brady Campaign's lowest ranked states.

This is just further proof that gun control is not crime control.

It's contagious.

Not to be outdone by his portly peer to the south, Governor Paterson has commuted the prison sentence of John White.

Who is John White?

The fatal confrontation was set in motion after a Sound Beach party where police say alcohol was present. Daniel Cicciaro Jr. and his friends piled into cars to confront White's son, Aaron, over an Internet message they mistakenly thought he had sent, threatening to rape a girl at the party. John White, alerted by his son, emerged from his house with a loaded gun and ordered the teens to leave. Within three minutes, Cicciaro had been shot in his face. It surfaced much later that another youth, pretending to be Aaron White, had written the Internet message.

Of note is Rev. Roderick Pearon's comment:

"The right to defend one's home, family and ultimately one's self is at the heart of our history and law," said the Rev. Roderick Pearson, who was chairman of Suffolk's African-American advisory board at the time of the shooting.

Well said, Reverend.

Free Brian Aitken.

It's no secret that New Jersey is hostile to gun owners. It's a state where all gun owners are presumed guilty until proven innocent. This is also the same state that the Brady Campaign ranks as #2 for it's "strong gun laws"... And they want more. As if being imprisoned for doing nothing wasn't enough. So keep Brian Aitken in mind when you hear gun-controllers speak of "compromise". Arbitrary imprisonment is their "compromise".

Help Brian Aitken, an innocent man, be a free man by Christmas. Click here for instructions on how.


UPDATE 12/20/10:
Looks like it worked. Brian will soon be a free man. Will he get his guns back? Will he get his rights to buy a gun back? Will he stay in New Jersey?

UPDATE 12/22/10:
Looks like he is getting out of New Jersey.

This is why you lock them up. Part V

Known violent criminal brings gun into a Gun Free Zone; Commits more violence. Luckily someone with a gun was there to stop him:

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A gunman calmly walked up to a podium, spray painted a red "V" with a circle around it on a wall and opened fire at school board members Tuesday, sending people scrambling and diving for cover. A security guard soon ran in, exchanged shots with and wounded the man who then killed himself, police said.

Here is the non-shocker:

State prison records show Duke was charged in October 1999 with aggravated stalking, shooting or throwing a missile into a building or vehicle and obstructing justice. He was convicted and sentenced in January 2000 to five years in prison but was released in January 2004.

My opinion is that if you can't be trusted to own a gun, you can't be trusted to live in free society. To some, that may sound extreme. But if the price of letting violent people walk free is further erosion my 2nd Amendment Rights, then by all means keep violent people locked up. And if were not going to keep violent criminals locked up for our safety, let's do it for their safety. Because more often than not, violent criminals have their lives violently ended.

More examples of people who should have stayed locked up:
This is why you lock them up. Part IV
This is why you lock them up. Part III
This is why you lock them up. Part II
This is why you lock them up.

Justice Breyer on your rights.

"Are you a sportsman? Do you like to shoot pistols at targets? Well, get on the subway* and go to Maryland. There is no problem, I don't think, for anyone who really wants to have a gun."

Let's forget for the moment that the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with "sports".

Imagine if Martin Luther King Jr. had Breyer's attitude? Would he have avoided all those whoopings by the police and moved to Canada?

Imagine if America had Breyer's attitude during WWII? Would we have told the Jews to just pack their stuff and leave.

What would Breyer tell victims of gay bashing? "Don't like getting your face kicked in? Then hop on the bus and go to San Francisco."

Would Breyer tell Muslims, "Want to practice your religion? Then go to Mecca."?

It should be painfully obvious that Breyer's way is the way of the coward. His message to the American people is to run away from any fight for your rights. It's a good thing we don't depend on him for any important, life-changing decisions... Oh wait.

* ADDENDUM: Can you even legally take a gun on the subway in DC? It's worth finding out.

Complex Arguments.

“Unlike the gun enthusiasts, who’s simplistic slogans make for great bumper stickers, our arguments are complex.”

Let's look at the Brady Campaign's complex arguments:

Q. Is Brady a "gun ban" organization?

A. No. Brady believes that a safer America can be achieved without banning guns.

We believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to buy and keep firearms. And we believe there are sensible gun laws that we can and should insist upon when it comes to gun ownership.

Assuming that's the Brady Campaign's complex argument, it must be said that a complex argument isn't always a truthful one.

When Chicago closed their handgun registry (effectively banning the purchase of a handgun), the Brady Campaign was in favor of it. When Washington DC law mandated that a firearm in the home be kept disassembled and inaccessible (effectively banning the keeping of a firearm), the Brady Campaign was in favor it. The Brady Campaign also supports banning law abiding citizens from buying and keeping firearms through the use of horribly erroneus, secret government watch lists. And that's not even getting into the Brady Campaign's thoroughly debunked nonsense about "assault weapons", concealed carry, open carry, etc.

It seems the Brady Campaign's complex arguments are just complex lies. So how about these slogans for Brady Campaign bumper stickers:

"We believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to buy and keep firearms... But we really don't."

OR

"Brady believes that a safer America can be achieved without banning guns... But we really don't"

Quote Ghostbusters? Lose your rights. Go on an anti-Israel rant? Win an award!

If you quote movies or dress up for Halloween, you are obviously a dangerous person who should never have a gun. But if you're a crazy old bat who goes on an anti-Israel rant, then the Brady Campaign will give you an award:


That's the Commonsense® of gun control.

Let's not let reality get in the way of a good emotional argument.

Bill Holda, president of Kilgore College:

"…where you have multiple shooters and innocent people were killed by other people who had concealed licensed handguns because they weren’t sure who was the shooter and who was the defender,"

Of course that completely false. There was only one shooter and no one with a concealed, licensed handgun. But let's not let reality get in the way of a good emotional argument.

And the scariest isn't that this man is responsible for the shaping of young minds, but that he qcites the VPC as an explanation for his "gaffe":

"You are correct re: my inaccuracy re: the Killeen shooting. However, I invite you to look at the information on the Violence Policy Center website; you will see a list of innocent individuals who have been killed by the licensed carriers of handguns. http://www.vpc.org/ We often do not hear about this side of the story – that concealed handguns are not only used for protection, but have been used inappropriately on occasion to kill innocent individuals."

Of course the fatal flaw of the VPC's data is that none of their concealed carry killers needed a concealed carry permit to commit their crime and some of the killers didn't even use a concealed firearm to kill. But let's not let reality get in the way of a good emotional argument.

This reminds me of a comment I just left at 3 Boxes:

"With the internet being as available as it is, there is no excuse for the ignorance among the gun control crowd. Thus the only conclusion is that they are being dishonest or intentionally remaining ignorant out of dedication to their ideology."

It's pretty obvious that the VPC falls under the former and it's beginning to look like Bill Holda falls under the latter.

Surprise! You are a gun banner.

Today's magic phrase: cognitive dissonance.

japete:

If you dare to say that certain weapons should not be allowed or that there are some places where they are not a good idea or there are some people who shouldn't have guns, you are automatically a "gun banner." It's as simple as that.

If you're in favor of banning any guns, you are a gun banner. Just because you don't want to ban all guns, it doesn't make you any less of a gun banner. There are no degrees of gun bannerism. You either are or you aren't. If you want to ban "assault weapons", you are a gun banner. If you want to ban .50 caliber rifles, you are a gun banner. If you want to ban guns that are painted pink, you are a gun banner.

It really is as simple as that.

Marc Lamont Hill still doesn't get it.

I've discussed his position on the Second Amendment before and it looks like he's made absolutely no progress:

The Second Amendment gives citizens the right to keep and bear arms not only to safeguard their homes and property but to stave off the possibility, albeit remote, of a tyrannical government.

That is correct, but he later says:

We must support laws that ban gun show sales, straw purchases, interstate gun trafficking and other loopholes that enable handguns to get into the hands of criminals. And I find no good reason to allow private citizens to buy weapons of mass destruction that have no sporting or self-defense purpose - or to let felons or mentally ill people get hold of firearms.

Banning gun show sales, private or otherwise is non-negotiable. There are already laws dealing with straw purchasing, interstate trafficking, felons, and the mentally ill.

As for "weapons of mass destruction that have no sporting or self-defense purpose", who makes the decision as to what has and doesn't have sporting or self-defense purpose? Someone like Carolyn "Shoulder Thing That Goes Up" McCarthy? As far as I am concerned, any firearm can have sporting or self-defense purpose if I decide to give it that purpose.

New Jersey law: Guilty until proven innocent.

At least that is what I gather from the story of Brian Aitken.

To buy a gun in New Jersey, you must go through a laborious process to obtain a "purchaser's permit." But that permit doesn't entitle you to possess a gun. A few select groups of people, mostly off-duty police officers and security personnel, can obtain carry permits. But anyone else with a gun is presumed to be violating state law and must defend against the charge of illegal gun possession by claiming one of the state's exemptions.

...

Putting Brian Aitken in prison isn't going to make New Jersey any safer. It might, however, make some of the state's residents think twice before calling the police, particularly if they own guns. It might even make some New Jersey gun owners wonder if they have more to fear from the state's ridiculous laws and overly aggressive cops and prosecutors than they do from criminals. Given what happened to Aitken, those fears wouldn't be unfounded.

That is absolutely right. Gun control was never meant to make people safer. The purpose of gun control is to use whatever methods necessary to discourage and prevent people from owning and carrying firearms; laws and rights be damned. If you have a gun, you are guilty in the gun controller's mind.

Gun control isn't dead...

But it's definitely on life support.

This shows that you can't go far or long by promoting a negative. When your organization's entire reason for existing is to deprive others of their rights and/or property, you're not going to get many people to sign up for your organization, no matter how much you paint yourself in "Commonsense".

How does a gun free school campus become more dangerous?

When the system that's supposed to warn you about criminals on campus doesn't warn you.

Oklahoma State University sends a campus-wide alert about a gunman near campus, but not everyone got it. The suspect shot a student in the leg then ran away. OSU says it sent an alert to 20,000 students and employees. About 1,000 of them never got the call. The University is not sure if a glitch is to blame, or if some people did not sign up for the alert.

I wonder if the person who was shot was one of those who failed to receive an alert. I must admit though that a failure rate of 5% isn't that bad.

"Shootings of police officers are on the increase."

"Shootings of police officers are on the increase." - Joan Peterson

It seems that over the past 20 years shootings of police officers have been on an overall decrease, not an increase.

Welcome, Governor Fallin.

Mary Fallin has made history by becoming Oklahoma's first female governor. A+ rated by the NRA and a member as well, it really can't get any better than that. Her view on the Second Amendment:

Unfortunately, many liberals, including President Obama, do not. As governor, I will make sure that no one, whether its anti-gun activists or the president himself, infringes on our constitutional liberties or erodes the right to purchase and own firearms.

Furthermore, I believe that gun ownership rights in Oklahoma can and should be expanded. Gov. Brad Henry vetoed an "open carry" law that would have permitted responsible gun owners to carry weapons without concealing them. When I am governor, I will sign that bill into law and send a message that in Oklahoma, we mean business when it comes to the second amendment.

I am proud to have the support and endorsement of the National Rifle Association in the race for Oklahoma governor.

Sounds like we have a winner and I didn't expect any less. We here in Oklahoma are in a unique position in that there really aren't any anti-gun politicians. While that seems great on the surface, it does have a downside: It makes everyone complacent. Very little is done to expand the right to keep and bear arms. If Mary stays true to the bolded part, hopefully that will change.

A Great Quote.

I don't know why Joan Peterson continues to reject comments only to post them herself.

Sean via Joan Peterson:

"Colin has a choice today. He can stand up for the next victim, or he can take the side of the next murderer. By working to disarm the next victims, Colin has allied himself with the next murderer. Nothing Colin has suffered can absolve him of the guilt of that choice."

One thing is for sure, Colin Goddard is no Suzanna Gratia-Huppp.

Study. Aim. Fire.

The best way to child proof your guns is to gun proof your child with proper training and supervision.

 

One more child killed by a gun.

Midwest City police release names of teens accused in home invasion.

MIDWEST CITY — Police today released the name of a 15-year-old male shot to death after breaking into a woman's home early Thursday. They also released the name of the juvenile wounded by the woman's gunfire and the name of a third teen who police said acted as a lookout during the home invasion.

The next time someone goes on about the numbers of children killed by firearms, keep in mind the following:

1. Only in the age range of 15-24 does homicide via firearm come close to be a leading cause of death among Children®. Unintentional accidents is the leading cause of death in that age range with approx. 1/3 of those accidents being firearm related.
2. The age range of 14-25 are the peak ages for criminal activity.

The overlap of those two age ranges is no coincidence. Dying at the business end of a gun is directly correlated with engaging in criminal activity, be it gang affiliation, illicit drug trade, or theft.

So while there are some innocent children who get caught in the crossfire of criminals (See: Chicago on any warm weekend), we can't ignore the fact that a lot of The Children® are criminals themselves, engaged in criminal activity, and rightfully shot.

Or as Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said:

“It is very disheartening that adolescents make decisions to commit crimes, especially this scenario where our defendants are habitual offenders and their actions lead to a death.”

RPGs, hand grenades, and other things I picked up at the gun show.

Okay, not really. But the following comment begs the question: Ignorance, dishonesty, or malevolent ignorance?

The "bust" pictures? Hand grenades and RPGs are sold at gun shows all over the country. They could be sold by private sellers who may or may not require background checks.

Addendum:

Here is her proof that hand grenades are sold all over the country at gun shows. Unsurprisingly, none of her links said anything about gun shows:

more about hand grenades: http://yarchive.net/gun/politics/hand_grenade_bank_rob.html
and: http://lasvegas.backpage.com/SportsEquipForSale/1000-us-military-m67-hand-grenades-for-sale/3323637
I guess this one is for a "practical joke": http://mp-pistol.com/boards/lofiversion/index.php?t20494.html

and this one: http://badphoenixcops.blogspot.com/2009/11/for-sale-60-hand-grenades-200-each-will.html

Apparently, P.T. Barnum was right. The first link is to the type of baseless, unsubstantiated story that makes up most of the gun control movement's "facts". The second link is an anonymous classified ad (because none has ever submitted a fake classified ad). The third link is a demilled grenade which you can buy at any government auction or military surplus store.

And the final link flies completely in the face of the notion that American gun shows are arming Mexican criminals as it's an example of the complete opposite. Apparently, it's Mexican criminals that are attempting to sell their grenades here in the US.

Common sense and critical thinking skills go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other. It's apparent that Joan Peterson possess neither, otherwise she would do more than post random Google results as her proof that hand grenades are being sold at American gun shows.

Ignorance vs dishonesty.

On one hand, the average journalism intern who puts together these types of ads aren't among the sharpest knives in the drawer. Being ignorant of firearms and firearms law, they likely aren't going to know that fully automatic weapons are already heavily regulated at the federal level and banned at the state level in Illinois. Ignorance, while dangerous, is forgivable and fixable.

On the other hand, a member of the gun control movement has admitted to using dishonesty to further their goals ("The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons." - Josh Sugarmann). Dishonesty is most definitely dangerous, unforgivable, and unfixable.

Then there is that grey area between ignorance and dishonesty: Malevolent ignorance. What is malevolent ignorance? Malevolent ignorance is being uninformed about an issue and being uninterested or actively opposed to becoming informed due to ones own bias and/or bigotry. For an example:



Not only does she not know what a barrel shroud is, it is extremely unlikely that she even cares. Her goal is to simply ban guns. The rhyme or reasoning is completely irrelevant to her. I bet if you were to ask Carolyn McCarthy right this moment what a barrel shroud is, you'd get roughly that same answer, "I don't know and I don't think it really matters."

Being that the only thing more dangerous than intentional ignorance is well-intentioned ignorance, Carolyn McCarthy definitely qualifies as malevolent to me.

Cars vs Guns: Does this sound familiar?

Sadly, there is no news of punishing people who steal from cars. Just harassment of those who haven't done anything wrong. Sounds like gun control tactics are bleeding over into car control as well.

A persistent lie doesn't become the truth.

From Common Gunsense:

We know that gun sales went up right before and after President Obama was elected. Fear is alive and well. He has said nothing anywhere to indicate that he would ban guns.

Some iteration of this statement is almost guaranteed to come up in a discussion about gun control. The truth is that President Obama has said things that indicate that he would ban guns or that he at least has the desire to do so. Here are a handful of reminders taken from some of my previous blog entries:

Lie #1: Hunting and sporting purpose.

From Barack's Urban Policy Plan:

"They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets."

Barack Track #1: No more agenda.

What it used to say:

Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

There is more:
Barack Track #2: It's back.
Lie #9: "Nothing about Obama’s candidacy or history..."
Holder's justification for a new Assault Weapons Ban...
Lie #14: "President Obama...has said next to nothing on the issue."
From the mouth of the Lightworker himself.

And today he's still saying things about banning guns:

Address Gun Violence in Cities: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.

As we say in the boondocks of Oklahoma, "Don't piss on my neck and tell me it's raining." President Obama and his administration has said things that indicate that they would ban guns or that he at least has the desire to do so.

"Does your partner have a gun?"

Taken from a local college's paper (PDF):

That's a heck of an idictment. If you own a gun, apparently, you're no different than a rapist.

The Brady Campaign is wrong again... Again.

Dennis Henigan says

According to a new report, U.S. Firearms Trafficking to Mexico, by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the University of San Diego Trans-Border Institute, of 75,000 firearms seized by the Mexican government in the last three years, about 80%, or 60,000 firearms, came from the United States.

The GAO gives a more truthful insight:

So it's more like 8,700 out of 75,000. Not 60,000.

You're most likely to be shot by someone you know with your own gun. *

Classic gun-controller scenario: An acquaintance takes your gun and shoots you with it.



* If you're a gang member/drug dealer who who was in illegal possession of a gun to begin with.

The Brady Campaign is wrong again.

Reacting to the fact that despite there being a record number of guns (and people carrying guns) in circulation, violent crime has gone down, the Brady Campaign goes on a baseless, emotionalism laden rant and even manages to attack Lady Gaga for a third time.

"The NRA can't help exposing itself and its any gun for anybody anywhere agenda again -- the way Lady Gaga can't help exposing her...well, you get my point."

A lie often repeated does not become the truth. The NRA has never advocated any gun for anybody anywhere.

"In 2009, gun sales increased. Which means that in 2009, after a successful campaign of fear-mongering about President Obama among its followers, more of the same guys who love guns bought...wait for it, more guns."

It wasn't fear-mongering so much as was pointing out Obama's record when it comes to gun. As for who actually bought the guns, no one knows but the people who bought the guns. To claim that it was "the same guys who love guns" who bought the guns is completely baseless as the only data available is total NICS queries. It could have been one guy buying millions of guns or millions of people buying one gun. No one knows. At least no one is supposed to know.

"America has the highest number of guns in the industrialized world and our citizens make up 80 percent of people in the industrialized world who die from bullet blasts."

That in itself sounds impressive, but when you state it in context with other causes of death in America, it's really not. Not many people die from "bullet blasts" period. Or to state it with equal, but opposite impressiveness: Less than 0.01% of Americans will die from bullet blasts. Percentages are such great tools, aren't they?

The rest of the article is standard Brady fare: Anecdotes of violence designed to pull at your heart strings. However none of it changes the basic truth: We have more guns and less crime.

Gun Control and Suicide.

Oleg Volk has a theory; That gun control directly causes suicides.

And his theory may not be far off:


Keep in mind that correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation. Nonetheless, it's interesting that with an increase in gun control, suicides actually went up.

Truth or just pre-midterm posturing?

Obama told the TCU team that he, too, practiced shooting with a rifle. "He said he practiced with the Secret Service," said Riford, who graduated from TCU in May and now works in Fort Worth.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/09/13/100524/obama-praises-tcus-champion-all.html#ixzz0zo6b2C8x

And no pictures? This could have been Barack's Al Gore moment. Or even better, his Dukakis moment.

Safe storage laws save lives... Except when they don't.

From Chicago Breaking News:

The shotgun involved in the apparently accidental shooting that claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy in his Roseland home was kept for protection, purchased legally and stored away properly, his sister said this morning.

A law enforcement source confirmed a key was needed for one to gain access to the gun.

Locking up your guns is not a guarantee of your child's safety. Children find keys. You want to keep your child safe? Teach them proper gun safety.

Lie #24: "Violence in Mexico has increased..."

From Paul Helmke's latest demand for the erosion of American rights for Mexican corruption:

Violence in Mexico has increased since Congress allowed the federal assault weapons ban to expire in 2004.

Except it hasn't. From the AP:

Mexico's homicide rate has fallen steadily from a high in 1997 of 17 per 100,000 people to 14 per 100,000 in 2009, a year marked by an unprecedented spate of drug slayings concentrated in a few states and cities, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna said. The national rate hit a low of 10 per 100,000 people in 2007, according to government figures compiled by the independent Citizens' Institute for Crime Studies.

No Guns For Jews.

Another great piece from JPFO:



If you want to check out the whole movie, just click the video and go t their Youtube channel. While you're there, also check out the equally fabulous "No Guns For Negroes".

Children and Guns.

It's that time of the year again. Marian Wright Edelman is on the soapbox for The Children®

Rather than pick apart her argument again, i'll just point you to the last time I picked apart her argument.

Rephrasing the Mexico lie.

via HuffPo:

A shocking new report obtained by ABC News says that as many as three out of four guns used in crimes in Mexico can be traced to gun stores just across the border in the U.S.

Realizing the 90% lie has been debunked into the ground, they've had to create a new magic number: 3 out of 4. Of course, it suffers the same flaw as the 90% lie. The "3 out of 4" is only 3 out of 4 of the guns that are submitted for tracing, which is less than 1/3 of the total number of guns confiscated. That results in only 1/4 of the confiscated guns being traceable to US gun stores. The remaining 3/4 come from other sources, including the Mexican government itself.

King Richard to give up the crown.

via NPR:

After more than 20 years in office, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he's not running for re-election. If Daley finishes his current term, he will have held the post longer than even his father, Richard J. Daley, who died in office after serving 21 years.

I wish I could say he would finally be replaced by someone who believes in the 2nd Amendment, but rumor has it Herr Rahm is one of the people seeking the crown.

The 2nd Amendment survives.

Some good news from Der Volksrepublik of Kalifornia. Assembly Bill 1810 (long gun registration), Assembly Bill 1934 (ban on the open carry of unloaded guns), and Assembly Bill 2358 (ammo registration) were all defeated.

Of course, the gun-controllers will not quit. This is only a setback for them. They will continue their assault on your rights. But it's nice to know that even in enemy territory, the rights of the people can still prevail.

Three Hundred and Three.

Three hundred and three is:

a) The number of handguns registered in Chicago post McDonald.
b) The number of shootings in Chicago last month.
c) The number of guns turned in at Chicago's latest gun buyback.
d) The number of Chicagoans who have defended themselves with a gun this year.


Click through for the answer.

This is why you lock them up. Part IV

What is so hard about keeping criminals in jail?

Following another Chicago tragedy, it turns out the shooter was just another product of our revolving door criminal justice system:

Prosecutors say he was convicted of a felony gun possession charge two months ago and remains on probation. Brisco also had a juvenile burglary conviction.

Probation for a felony gun charge? Surely it was because he was just another nice kid caught up in a bad situation, right?

Witnesses told authorities that Brisco admitted to being the triggerman shortly after the shooting — even bragging about it, prosecutors said.

Brisco made “several incriminating statements including, ‘We let loose on 107th Street,’ and ‘We got down on them, and aired them out,’ ” according to a written list of allegations presented by prosecutors.

“When asked if he knew if the girls were out there, [Brisco told witnesses,] ‘Yes, but we didn’t care, we let the whole 40 clip go,” according to prosecutors.

Sounds like a great kid. Maybe this time they will actually put him in jail rather than releasing him into the wild to kill more innocent people.

When guns are banned...

Criminals become innovative.

Det Con Dan Bryant said: "This was a highly-organised operation whereby Coke and Kadena were converting and modifying firearms, doubtless with the sole intention of selling them on to those intent on committing serious crime.

"They were dangerous and ruthless individuals, content in the knowledge they were producing deadly weapons in order to line their own pockets."

Oklahoma "Only One" busted selling guns to Mexican drug cartels.

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Agent Arrested for Alleged Firearms Sales to Mexican Cartels

Reyes is accused of using a false name to buy five A-K 47s from Outdoor America, as well as transferring a 50-caliber Barrett rifle to someone who wasn't licensed to own it. ATF agents said Reyes would also use his residence at the Regency Tower in downtown Oklahoma City and other places across the state to pay others to purchase guns and then complete the work to have the weapons sent to Mexico. Authorities said they believed the guns were making it into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

The Bureau of Firearms, Firearms, and maybe that other stuff.

At least that's what Paul Helmke thinks it should be.

Judging by his latest complaint, he's perturbed because the ATF is focusing on one of the letters that comes before the "F". Specifically, the "T".

And what does he believe the ATF should be doing instead? Doing away with due process, of course.

But while the ATF announces it will fight our terrorist enemies' access to our cigarette supply, the agency continues to sit out the debate about whether we should close the "terror gap" in our background check system for gun purchases that enables terror watch list suspects to buy all the guns they want, and the gun show loophole that allows them to buy guns without Brady background checks.

Apparently in Paul Helmke's world, it's (still) OK to deny people their rights simply because some bureaucrat placed their name on a secret list.

Bloody Baltimore.

The numbers speak for themselves.

Number of people shot over the weekend: 7
Number of people shot and killed so far this year: 119
Brady Campaign ranking for common sense gun laws: 5

The murder charges against Jerome Ersland may be dropped.

Why?

That's because a new expert has reviewed the autopsy of Antwun Parker and determined that Jerome Ersland's first shot to the teen's head could have killed him.

Why was the autopsy revisited? This might have something to do with it:

However, the state has since fired its chief medical examiner, Dr. Collie Trent.

Anyone familiar with the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office knows they have a less than stellar track record, rife with corruption, mismanagement and questionable conclusions. Will this be another case?

* In case you don't know who Jerome Ersland is, some background.

Criminal control, not gun control, reduces shootings.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has been named one of the winners of this year's Project Safe Neighborhoods Achievement Awards.
...
Over the last three years, the county has seen a reduction in drive-by shootings, Prater said. In 2006 there were 245 drive-by shootings. Last year there were 100, Prater said. While Prater's name is on the award, he stressed the success his office has had is a group effort across multiple agencies.

That's over a 50% reduction, all accomplished without a single reduction in rights. No registration, no licensing, no long drawn out process to purchase a gun, no extra limitations on where you can have a gun or how many you can have.

Soon, we may all get a taste of Chicago.

From Main Justice:

President Barack Obama might soon nominate the chief of the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to lead the Justice Department agency, The Washington Post reported.

Special Agent in Charge Andrew Traver would be the bureau’s first Senate-confirmed director, if approved. Temporary appointees have held the post since a 2006 law gave the Senate the ability to confirm the director.

It's not like the ATF has ever been a friend of gun owners, but appointing an anti-gun zealot straight from the fiefdom of Daley isn't going to make things any better. What are we in store for? Here is a sample:

Traver says the power and randomness of the heavy caliber, military-style weapons make them so dangerous not only to people, but to police. They're so powerful, body armor can't withstand a hit, and they're so difficult to control, their bullets often get sprayed beyond the intended targets, striking innocent victims even when they’re in their own homes.

He's definitely a true believer of every lie in the book. He's also a member of the anti-gun, Joyce Foundation sock puppet organization known as the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

With decreasing funds, increasing irrelevance, and a congress terrified of gun control, this may be the gun control movement's last hope: Someone as ideologically anti-gun as they are.

Even if the police are outside of your front door, they still can't protect you.

'Deadly delay': Police wait while mother, sons slain

The District police department policy on forcible entry caused a "deadly delay" as officers waited for a supervisor outside an apartment while a mother and her two young sons were being stabbed to death inside, according to a lawsuit filed by the woman's family.

Typical anti-gun refrain: "We don't need the Second Amendment. We have police to protect us now!" Then I say, "What's the point of limiting guns to those who lack the will to use them for your protection?"

The reality is police carry guns for one reason only: To protect themselves. Not to protect you. Police presence does not negate the need for you to protect yourself. In fact, police have no legal obligation to protect you. If you want protection, you must provide it for yourself.

NRA endorsing more Democrats.

Because "they are an extremist right wing political arm of the republican party."

One more gun free zone and why I am now a Walmart shopper.

Anyone who lives in Oklahoma City should be familiar with the Buy For Less chain of grocery stores. They've been around for quite a while and they're one of the few locally owned businesses to survive the onslaught of Walmart.

On my latest trip, I discovered a new policy of theirs:


To their credit, they have provided armed security inside of the store. However, once you're outside the store, no security is provided. You're on your own between their door and your car door.

So rather than break the rules and continue carrying my weapons into the store or inconvenience myself by disarming in the parking lot, I will shop at my local Walmart where such a sign is not posted. And i will encourage my gun carrying friends to do the same.

Why the shooting won't stop in Chicago.

The story of why they won't stop shooting in Chicago.

This is the story of why they won’t stop shooting in Chicago.

It’s told by the wounded, the accused and the officers who were on the street during a weekend in April 2008 when 40 people were shot, seven fatally.

Two years later, the grim reality is this: Nearly all of the shooters from that weekend have escaped charges.

Of course, this bit of information will be ignored by the gun controllers when years later post-McDonald Chicago still looks like a war zone on warm weekends. They'll say that arming law abiding citizens did nothing to prevent the loss of life, when the real fault lies within a broken criminal justice system that fails to keep dangerous people off the streets.

So while mayor Daley is coming up with new and exciting ways to harass law-abiding gun owners, perhaps he should invest some of that effort into properly imprisoning those who have broken the law.

Safe storage laws save lives... Except when they don't.

Sweden has some very strict gun laws. Regarding storage, guns must be locked up and your home is open to police inspection at any time. Guns not properly stored are seized and the owner is not compensated.

A 12-year-old boy in a community in the Alingsås region in western Sweden accidentally shot his grandmother on Tuesday morning, killing her.

The boy had been looking for the keys to his father's weapons cabinet and took out two small-bore rifles and a shotgun during the night, hiding them under his bed, according to Svenska Dagbladet.

In the morning, the boy's paternal grandmother came to take care of the boy and his three siblings while their father went out fishing. After his father had left, the boy took one of the small-bore rifles to go out and shoot birds in the backyard, the report said.

While on the lawn, the boy tripped and an accidental shot went off. The shot flew into the house through an open patio door, hitting his 65-year-old paternal grandmother, who was in the kitchen. The woman died on the spot.

A different type of Reasoned Discourse®.

Something different from the usual Reasoned Discourse®.

1. Post some hysterical bullcrap.
2. Get called on it.
3. Instead of the usual step 3 (Huffpo doesn't allow writers to close or delete comments), come back with an equally hysterical, ad-hominem filled "update".

Chicago anti-gunner finally admits it's their culture that makes Chicago dangerous.

From Snuffy Pfleger's Facebook page:

@Mr Susnjara, you didn't say where you live but there are some Stepford Wife communities which have a different "culture" and may not "need" it. Our community and it's culture, Chicago, is on among others which clearly does need to prevent such "easy access. " Since this is, and there is no issue in your own community, why try to block or prevent it's establishment given the need in our community (among others)?

If only we could get that level of honesty from all of them... I've known all along that it was a culture problem.

If they put as much effort into changing their culture as they do into eroding people's 2nd Amendment rights, Chicago could probably solve their violence problem.

"The NRA is an arm of the Republican party."

A very persistent lie that isn't addressed nearly as much as it should be. This lie is easily debunked by looking at where the money goes. As you can see, a third of gun rights contributions go to Democrats.

For comparison no gun control contributions go to Republicans.

You can't trust the Brady Camp with your e-mail address or money, apparently.

We know the Brady Campaign has been pimping out their membership list for extra pocket change. Now there is this.

From the BBB:

Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (Brady Center) does not meet the following 6 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 1: Oversight of Operations and Staff - Organizations shall have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity's operations and its staff. Indication of adequate oversight includes, but is not limited to, regularly scheduled appraisals of the CEO's performance, evidence of disbursement controls such as board approval of the budget, fund raising practices, establishment of a conflict of interest policy, and establishment of accounting procedures sufficient to safeguard charity finances.
Brady Center does not meet this Standard because its board of directors does not:
Have a voting member of the board who is assigned the responsibility of serving as the treasurer. In general, the board’s treasurer helps provide independent oversight of the organization’s finances.

Marc Lamont Hill gets so close, but falls short.

Marc Lamont Hill, being a protege of Bill O'Reilly, is the last person you'd ever expect to support the right to keep arms.

In other words, American democracy is underwritten by the possibility that everyday citizens can fight back if the government no longer acts in the interest of freedom and justice. For Blacks, who have never received the full protection of the State, such a right must be viewed as an indispensable nonnegotiable component of complete citizenship.
 


...

Although today’s gun control laws are facially neutral, they continue to disempower and literally disarm poor communities of color. Over the past 20 years, many states have imposed gun permit laws that allow police and other state agencies to determine which individuals are “worthy” of gun ownership. Gun bans against public housing residents, expressly designed to prevent violent crime, have served to disarm poor Blacks almost exclusively. While rural white communities have done little to encroach upon the gun possession rights of citizens, majority-Black urban centers like Washington, D.C. and Chicago have imposed draconian anti-gun laws on the community. Regardless of intent, these laws have a clear and disproportionate impact on poor people of color. 
 


Very well put, but sadly he goes completely off the rails in the next few paragraphs:

"It's about white males in America feeling threatened..."

From Buzzflash:

It's about white males in America feeling threatened by becoming a minority and the gun is their last psychological reassurance of entitlement power against an encroaching demographic change in our democracy. After all, the City of Chicago allows citizens to own rifles, so there never was a ban on guns in Chicago; there was a ban on a certain type of gun, which didn't even exist at the time the Constitution was written.

But it is the handgun that makes so many white males feel impregnable, as if they were riding around with a turret gun in a Hummer.

Race baiting has always been one of last-ditch tools in the gun controller toolbox. MSspinBC has done it. The VPC does it once a year like clockwork. And scores of assorted talking heads, commentators, and bloggers do it. They try to paint any effort to protect the 2nd Amendment from further encroachment as some christian, right-wing, white-male movement when reality is to the contrary.

Otis McDonald (the plaintiff in McDonald vs Chicago)is a black man. Being that the majority of Chicago's population is comprised of black people, the Chicago gun ban disproportionately affected black people. And as a result many black people applaud the Supreme Court's decision:



For far too long the gun controllers and their sympathizers have been exploiting the black community's legitimate concerns of racism by painting 2nd Amendment advocates as racists, neo-nazis, klansmen, etc. As a result many black people become reluctant to speak up for and exercise their 2nd Amendment rights, achieving the gun controllers goal of scaring more people out of exercising their rights.

So the real story is not about "white males in America feeling threatened". It's about the gun controllers feeling threatened as they lose the stranglehold of fear they have had over the black community for so many years.

And it begins.

Chicago's new gun laws:

1. Limit the number of handguns residents can register to one per month and prohibit residents from having more than one handgun in operating order at any given time.
2. Require residents in homes with children to keep them in lock boxes or equipped with trigger locks.
3. Require prospective gun owners to take a four-hour class and one-hour training at a gun range. 
4. Prohibit people from owning a gun if they were convicted of a violent crime, domestic violence or two or more convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Residents convicted of a gun offense would have to register with the police department.
5. Calls for the police department to maintain a registry of every handgun owner in the city, with the names and addresses to be made available to police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders.

1. Nothing more than rights rationing. Why should I only be limited to having one functional firearm at a time? Many gun owners routinely keep a handgun and long gun in "operating order".
2. Of what use is a gun that's locked up? Is a home invader going to wait for you to unlock your firearm? Is he going to give you advanced notice? A better law would be to require those with children to wear their gun at all times. That way you're ready to defend yourself and you can keep it out of the hands of children.
3. That wouldn't be so bad if civilian gun ranges weren't banned in Chicago.
4. Agreeable.
5. Pointless. Any well trained first responder should assume there is a gun in the home until proven otherwise, because every gun won't be in the registry, especially if the gun is in the possession of a criminal. 

Those who already have handguns in the city — which has been illegal since the city's ban was approved 28 years ago — would have 90 days to register those weapons, according to the proposed ordinance.

Out of the estimated 100,000 handguns in Chicago, I wonder what the compliance rate will be? Will it be any better than the 50% compliance rate of Canada's long gun registry? Or will it be more like California's 2-5% compliance rate?

What is a responsible adult?

Richard Daley's response to the McDonald ruling:


King Richard says, "We'll work even harder to make sure only responsible adults can have access to guns across the nation." We all saw how that worked in Chicago. They just deemed every person in the city not responsible enough to have access to a handgun.

And notice that at no point did he mention any legislative action that actually addresses the "gun and drug thugs" that he claims to want to stand up to. Everything he said was about guns. Nothing about criminals. That is why despite the McDonald ruling, Chicago will continue to bleed. The Chicago bureaucracy will continue it's idiotic attack on guns while completely ignoring the criminals.

As i've said in a previous post, it is too soon to celebrate. McDonald is just a first step.

The ultimate solution to Chicago's crime problem is to get rid of Richard Daley and his entire corrupt political machine and replace them with competent politicians who realize that further eroding the rights of those who have committed no crime is not standing up to the "gun and drug thugs".

Language is everything.

Taken from Dennis Henigan's reaction to the McDonald ruling:

Of course, there will be, as Justice Stevens predicts, an "avalanche" of legal challenges to gun laws in the wake of McDonald, some by the gun lobby, but most by criminal defendants seeking to overturn indictments and convictions for violating those laws.

Now who would those criminal defendants be? This is one of those moments where language is everything and sadly, the gun controllers have defined the language.

Most people when they hear the word "criminal" think of gang members, bank robbers, murderers, thieves, etc. Essentially, people who have committed crimes against person or property. So when the uninitiated hear Dennis Henigan speak of criminals using the McDonald ruling to overturn indictments and convictions, they're going to think, "OMG! This is going to put horrible people back on the streets and they're going to have guns! ZOMG!"

And don't think for a moment that this reaction isn't what the Brady Campaign wants. Gun controllers have never been above using carefully-crafted, intentionally vague language to confuse and alarm the masses into supporting their agenda. "Assault Weapons" and the "Terror Gap" being two examples.

So who are the criminals that Dennis Henigan speaks of? The criminals are people like this and people like this; People who are only criminals because they dared to defy the draconian legislation prohibiting anyone from owning a handgun. Draconian legislation that he has helped create and defend to the bitter end.

Now that you know what a "criminal defendant" really is do you see the reason for Dennis Henigan's concern? I personally hope that his concern is valid and that the "criminals" that he and his movement helped create will finally get justice at the feet of the McDonald ruling.

Not even 24 hours later, the Brady Campaign lies...

The ink is barely dry on the McDonald ruling and the Brady Campaign is already spinning for donations. And it appears the only way they can spin is to completely falsify the position of their opposition:

"We are reassured that the Court has rejected, once again, the gun lobby argument that its ‘any gun, for anybody, anywhere’ agenda is protected by the Constitution."

That was never the argument. Not in McDonald. Not in Heller. Not in any case. The "‘any gun, for anybody, anywhere’" meme is nothing more than a Brady-manufactured bogeyman. I'd dare the Brady Campaign to find any occurrence of the "gun lobby" arguing for "‘any gun, for anybody, anywhere’", but we all know they can't.

So why lie, Paul Helmke?

McDonald is in, but it's too early to celebrate.

There are still two major hurdles:

1. Post-Heller DC style obstructionism is on the way. That is where the hard fight will be.

2. There is still no right to carry. A gun at home can only protect you so much. Hopefully the next fight will be to allow Chicagoans to protect themselves outside the home as well.

Some people shouldn't have guns.

Brought to us by one of the members of the ever-so-tolerant bastion of neo-liberalism known as Pandagon:

Yeah, I have fantasies about shooting that dumbass teabagger who was swaggering around in a Starbucks showing everyone his SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHT!!!
After all it was a display to intimidate, I have the right to defend myself. But I actually think about the big picture like collateral damage and all the fall out from a gun battle in a public place and leave it purely in my head.

Hanging on till the bitter end.

It appears Richard Daley is going to go down kicking and screaming. As the McDonald ruling approaches, his words and actions become more and more erratic, if not completely nonsensical:

"Look at all the guns that shot people this weekend. Where did they come from? That is the issue," Daley said at a South Side high school Tuesday.

It's not guns that shot those people. It's criminals that shot those people. Where the guns come from is irrelevant. If you eliminate one source, the criminals will just find another source. Eliminating guns is pointless if you do not also eliminate the criminals that use them.

Daley also recently proposed legislation for the entire state that would require semiautomatic pistols manufactured or delivered for sale in Illinois to be capable of "micro-stamping." The technology helps law enforcement link spent ammunition with the gun used to fire it.

Micro-stamping is a useless technology that is easily defeated with basic hand tools. Luckily there is a breath of sanity in Illinois:

Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters at a separate news conference in Chicago on Tuesday that Illinois needs tough laws punishing people who commit gun crimes.

"Those who commit gun violence need to go to jail and stay there," he said.

Finally, someone is standing against the catch-n-release justice system that has literally turned certain parts of Chicago into a war zone.

Maddow gets it completely backwards.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Apparently, she has completely ignored the fact that while one group fought for prohibition, the other fights against it. If she wanted to be accurate in her analogy, she should have picked a gun prohibition group like the VPC that has made a case for banning a good majority of the firearms that are currently on the market.

Of course she brings up a slew of half-truths and lies:

1. "People on terrorist watch lists..." - Yes. Believe it or not, American citizens who are guilty of no crime other than being arbitrarily placed on a secret government list have both the right to keep and bear arms and the right to due process.

2. "Felons to have gun rights..." - Only at the discretion of the court who determines if the felon is a risk for violence or not, can a felon have their rights restored.

3. "Crazy people to have gun rights..." - Wrong. The so-called "crazy people" she refers to are people who have voluntarily sought mental health care and have not been adjudicated as “mental defective”. In other words, simply seeking out counseling for PTSD or a cigarette addiction will not result in a loss of your rights.

4. "Assault rifle..." - Old and debunked. More than likely she meant the manufactured term "assault weapon" that's arbitrarily applied to anything from pump action shot guns to .22 caliber Olympic pistols, depending on your state of residence.

5. ".50 caliber" - Aside from the fact a .50 caliber bullet is not the size of a carrot (unless it's a baby carrot), crimes commited with .50 caliber rifles are statistically irrelevant. In the nearly 30 years .50 caliber rifles have been on the market, you can count the number of criminal misuses on one hand. And no, you can't shoot down an aircraft with one.

Etc, etc.

Hopefully this type of spin job isn't becoming typical of MSspiNBC.

It's really not news anymore.

52 shot, 7 dead in Chicago.

Gangster Government: It's not just a Chicago thing.

From Knife Rights:

June 17, 2010: The New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney's office appears to be engaged in a shakedown of local businesses, forcing them to pay six-figure so-called "contributions" or risk unwarranted criminal penalties, in a move more like that of organized crime than the agency charged with protecting citizens, said a national group representing the rights of Americans who own and use pocket knives. Knife Rights Chairman, Doug Ritter, said, "the New York County District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, Jr. appears to have targeted legitimate, honest knife dealers, accused them of selling illegal 'gravity knives,' and threatening criminal prosecution if they don't pay up. The so-called "gravity knives" in question appear to be conventional one-handed and assisted-opening knives, which represent 80 percent of the pocket knives sold in the U.S. today." Some of the major retailers have reported agreed to six-figure settlements and have netted the DA millions of dollars.

Keep in mind that the same bureaucratic gangster who would ban such a basic tool as a knife would have no problem banning guns if they haven't already.

Being that both knives and guns are "arms", gun rights are intrinsically linked to knife rights. So if you're a member of a gun rights groups, it wouldn't hurt to join Knife Rights or at least stay up to date with the latest knife issues.

Why do they even have police?

What purpose is served by disarming those who are supposed to protect the disarmed?

via The Daily Express:

CRAZED gunman Derrick Bird was cornered by police after killing three people but pointed his firearm at the ­officers and escaped to murder nine more, it emerged yesterday.
...
The unarmed officers finally caught up with Bird’s grey Citroen Picasso but were forced to dive for cover when he pulled into a driveway and aimed his gun at them.
...
They were forced to dive for cover under their dashboard, allowing Bird to drive off and claim nine more victims.

In the US, when an active shooter kills a dozen people, it's usually because the police have yet to respond. Yet in the UK, the police respond, confront the shooter, and being unarmed, allow the shooter to continue killing at his leisure.

Keep in mind that this insanity is not without American approval:

To gun banners, there is no such thing as a good gun. They want them all. When Tom Diaz, of the Violence Policy Center, was on Gun Talk, I forced him to admit that he would like to ban all guns. What about the police, I asked. Once we get all the other guns, he said, the police won't need their guns, either.

The 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods.

I'm not going to reprint the whole list, but here are the top and botton 5:

25. Winchester Ave./60th St., Chicago IL

24. Wallace St./58th St., Chicago IL

23. Mount Elliott St./Palmer Ave, Detroit MI

22. East-West Expy/Orange Blossom Trl., Orlando FL

21. Cedar Ave./55th St., Cleveland OH

...

5. North Ave./Belair Rd., Baltimore MD

4. Beaver St./Broad St., Jacksonville FL.

3. 7th Ave./North River Dr., Miami, Fla.

2. State St./Garfield Blvd., Chicago IL

1. Central Pky./Liberty St., Cincinnati OH

The places on the list rank from relatively gun owner friendly to downright antagonistic to gun ownership. You could give the entire country Chicago's gun control laws and those same neighborhoods will still be more dangerous than others. That's because gun control is not crime control.

Violence in America is not a gun problem. It is a culture problem. Specifically the gang/thug culture that thrives so well in urban areas and takes the majority of lives. Handgun bans, bans on open carry, and bans on concealed carry do nothing to address the underlying emotional, intellectual and psychological deficiencies that promote gang/thug culture.

Shooting "Rampage" in Gun Control Paradise.

Twelve people have been killed and 25 injured by a gunman who opened fire in west Cumbria.

Any bets on what knee jerk reaction will be taken? The UK already has some of the most oppressive gun control legislation in the western world. You'd have to live in communist China to have more restrictive gun laws.

More importantly, what kind of gun was used? Surely, you'd have to have a rapid-fire, "assault weapon" with a "high capacity" magazine to kill that many people. Oh wait, considering the entire nation of the UK has been rendered defenseless by the prohibition of the right to carry, I imagine you could take your time picking people off with even the most sporting of arms without worrying about anyone fighting back.

And lastly, will American gun control groups use this event to advocate further erosion of our Second Amendment rights?

Sometimes good people have to break bad laws.

Cop's Murder Has Some Thinking Of Carrying A Gun

In that neighborhood, many residents have told CS 2 News off camera that they are willing to begin carrying a gun to protect themselves, even if it means breaking the ban on handguns.

Now let's see if Mayor Daley "understands" that.

My message to Chicagoans: Do whatever you have to do to protect yourselves. Freedom was pioneered by those willing to do the right thing in defiance of the law.

Richard Daley understands.

An 80 year old home owner shoots an armed invader with an unregistered handgun and Richard Daley "understands":

Mayor Daley said Thursday he "understands the frustration" that prompted an 80-year-old robbery victim to purchase a handgun that he used this week to kill a home intruder.

But there is always a "but":

But the mayor said that does not mean Chicago's strictest-in-the-nation handgun ban is a mistake or a widely-ignored charade.

Both the home owner and the invader were armed with "illegal" guns. Every week people are gunned down on Chicago streets with "illegal" guns. I think it's safe to say that Chicago's handgun ban is a widely-ignored charade. Luckily the homeowner won't be charged with illegal possession of a handgun (thanks to a law Barack Obama voted against).

If Richard Daley truly understands, why has he not scrapped this widely-ignored charade of a law? Both he and his handgun ban have become the laughing stock of the country and had the home owner complied with it, he'd be dead and yet another multiple repeat offender (a product of America's "catch and release" justice system) would still be walking the streets.

What the "Wild, Wild West" really looks like.

A classic gun control refrain is, "[insert something stupid about guns], because this isn't the Wild, Wild, West!" It's probably second in popularity to the "Blood in the Street" meme

For the moment, let's ignore the fact that the "Wild, Wild West" is nothing more than a creation of Hollywood. What would a modern day "Wild, Wild West" look like? It would probably look a lot like present day Jamaica:



Jamaica: Sarah Brady Paradise. No gun show loophole. No open carry. No concealed carry. No "assault weapons" and for what few guns are legally available, they must be registered. And for what few people who can own guns, they must be licensed.

Remember, for every Australia and England, there is a Mexico and a Jamaica. The government monopoly on force that the gun controllers so desperately desire does not always lead to peace.

Maybe the next NRA annual meeting should be held in Chicago.

Events last week attracted 85,000 visitors.

Visitors who descended on Charlotte's center city area for the National Rifle Association convention, UltraSwim and other events last weekend were the equivalent themselves of North Carolina's 10th-biggest city, officials said Tuesday.

Estimates from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are that 80,000 visitors were in the uptown area Friday and 85,000 Saturday.

What's more, crime was much lower than usual.

How much lower?

It also was very safe. Captain Jeff Estes, commander of CMPD's Central Division, said crime for the week was 45 percent lower than the same week a year ago. Overall this year, crime in the Central Division, which includes center city, is down 19 percent from the first 41/2 months of 2009, police say.

Maybe instead of protesting in front of annual meetings, these "violence prevention" groups should be begging the NRA to come their city next year.

Oath keeping before Oath Keepers...

Staff Sergeant (SSG) Joshua L. May discusses how he and his unit refused to participate in the Katrina Gun Grab and the importance of armed citizens in times of disaster.



I found this series of videos via David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner.

Paul Helmke doesn't like Sarah Palin telling the truth.

My reply to Paul Helmke's latest screed:

Every year at this event, we hear more of the same fear-mongering: "your guns are going to be outlawed; your guns are going to be confiscated;

And every year, I hear this from the Brady campaign: "Congress must pass strong, effective legislation to ban all military-style semi-automatic assault weapons along with high capacity ammunition magazines. "

And what good is a ban without confiscation of those already owned? It sounds like those two fears are fairly legitimate.

The politicians, celebrities, and NRA leaders say these same self-serving things every year because they ignore the facts - guns haven't been banned in this country and the Constitution, as well as politics, makes it clear that they won't be banned next year, or any year.

Yet that has done nothing to curb your begging for an "assault weapon" and .50 caliber ban. Nor has it done anything to stop you from supporting every standing gun ban in the country, like Chicago's handgun ban for example.

"Don't doubt for a minute that, if they thought they could get away with it, they would ban guns and ban ammunition and gut the Second Amendment."

Sarah didn't lie. Reinstating the "assault weapons" ban was part of Obama's Urban Policy. He also voted to ban "armor piercing" ammunition.

Seems like Sarah is pretty much on target.

Liars, damn liars, and Brad Henry.

In his second veto of the Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act:

"What it does do is endanger citizens and law enforcement officers,” the governor said. "It abolishes common-sense regulations like background checks and gives criminals easy access to a wide array of weapons. This law would harm Oklahomans, not protect them.”

Nothing in the bill abolishes background checks. Nothing in the bill makes it legal for prohibited person to buy or possess a firearm. In the fact, the bill does nothing but ensure that if the federal government decides to ban shoulder things that go up, Oklahoma gun makers can still make guns with shoulder things that go up.

It's a rather toothless bill in comparison to other similar bills around the country. The provision for suppressors was taken out. There is nothing in the bill that will punish federal agents who try to enforce federal law over state law. And of course, it wouldn't allow you to build a machine gun. This was the weakest, most Milquetoast bill that could be written.

Another bad move by Brad Henry. He's just holding that door wide open for Randy Brogdon.

Think Regress: Stay Classy.

NRA Members Approve Of Concealed Carry Restriction At Annual Convention

Chickenbone Bill says:
I’d love to see someome lose at their convention and start blasting away, which in turn would lead everyone else to then start blasting away, till no one is left standing!
Or maybe LaPierre to take a snipers shot right above his glasses between his eyes!

evangenital says:
Male gun mania can be cathartic for guys that are impotent.

Here is a hard thing that will discharge whenever he wants, as many times as he wants.

Others will stand by, amazed, complimentary, impressed.

What’s not to like?

I imagine this is why no gun control organization could ever have an annual meeting. Aside from the fact that they don't have enough dedicated members to fill a McDonald's Playland, they are all a bunch of hyper-violent, penis-obsessed idiots with fantasies of cowboy-style shootouts. They are essentially all those things they claim the average NRA member is.

Projection is a mother.