That’s how many have been introduced in TN this year, per Chas Sisk.
One of them is a bill to allow those with handgun carry permits to carry on college campuses, to which insty says:
I’m for it, though I’d extend permission to licensed students. As I’ve noted before, I have a number of students with carry permits and I’d feel safer, not less safe, if they were carrying on campus.
This is a marked departure from the past, truly breathtaking, and should send a chill through all Americans who believe in free enterprise. I worry that in one fell swoop we’ve lost our moral high ground throughout the global community as it relates to chastising other countries that use strong-arm tactics to invade on private property rights.
Meanwhile, staghounds notes the method to the madness:
The only thing that makes GM valuable at this price is that it is a ready made conduit, all set up. What for?
Delivering loyalty payments from “the government” to reliable voters. Buying new loyalty from stockholders. Buying gratitude from the workers kept on who aren’t paying their way. Patronage, from contracts and positions.
That, and an unrealistic pension/medical benefits scheme which, when it fails, can be “rescued”. Think of how thankful all those sick old people will be!
I missed it in the post below but it should be noted that the press is now reporting that the unnamed assault weapon used in the Oakland shooting was an SKS. Which was a weapon not covered by the Assault Weapons Ban. And in California, the SKS is banned unless the grenade launcher attachment is filed off and the muzzle brake is permanently attached.
Still, we must ban assault weapons because they were not used in this crime.
Clenched fist salute: Rustoleum.
Claim: It is estimated that at least 90% of the guns used by the Mexican drug trafficking organisations have come from the US.
But, of course, the truth is a bit different.
A source of the guns used by the cartels in Mexico is the US. But not gun shows:
The deadliest of the weapons now in the hands of criminal groups in Mexico, particularly along the U.S. border, by any reasonable standard of an analysis of the facts, appear to be getting into that nation through perfectly legal private-sector arms exports, measured in the billions of dollars, and sanctioned by our own State Department. These deadly trade commodities — grenade launchers, explosives and “assault” weapons –are then, in quantities that can fill warehouses, being corruptly transferred to drug trafficking organizations via their reach into the Mexican military and law enforcement agencies, the evidence indicates.
Gun myths – The “easy” conversion to full auto. Yeah, that’s the canard that people spread around: that those darn assault weapons are easy to convert. It’s not true. Also, if a gun is readily convertible the law considers it a machine gun and it is illegal. And there are modifications made to semi-automatics intentionally to make them difficult to convert, such as what is done to AK and AR receivers.
However, some semi-auto rifles that were not classified as assault weapons can be converted with a shoestring.
RF: The San Jose Mercury is calling for a national assault weapon ban because a criminal did not use an assault weapon during the commission of a crime.
Amanda Ruggeri of US News and World Report notes 10 winning industries in the recession. Guess what’s not there.
What media bias against guns?
Anti-gunner now wants to ban bottled water. I guess I don’t get it. My first reaction to something is not to ban it. Probably why I’m not a politician.
SAF is joined by two natural-born citizens, Maxwell Hodgkins and Stephen Dearth, who have been denied the opportunity to buy firearms because they do not currently reside in the United States. Hodgkins currently lives in the United Kingdom, and Dearth is a resident of Canada.
The lawsuit alleges that Holder, as attorney general, is enforcing unconstitutional laws that prevent citizens like Hodgkins and Dearth from exercising their Second Amendment rights. The complaint also asserts that enforcement of the federal gun laws that prevent such citizens from purchasing firearms when they visit the U.S. violates their right of equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs are represented by Virginia attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued the Heller case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
David Young has a challenge to those who think Heller was decided incorrectly: Verify for yourself whether statements in the professional historians’ amicus brief, which the dissenting justices based their history upon, are supported by historical facts.
I’m not aware of many who hold that view. Even the Brady Campaign scrubbed the collective rights mythology from their website.
No soup for you, come back one week:
The sponsor of a measure to allow guns to be carried where alcohol is served has delayed a House vote for a week.
Rep. Curry Todd, of Collierville, requested the delay Monday night after a fellow Republican lawmaker sought to strip out a proposed 11 p.m. curfew for handgun carry permit holders to carry their weapons in bars and restaurants.
Rep. Brian Kelsey, of Germantown, argued the curfew would be too confusing. The House voted 61-32 to reject Todd’s motion to throw out Kelsey’s change.
I pulled up to Al’s house, located in the posh Belle Meade section of Nashville, at 8:48pm – right in the middle of Earth Hour. I found that the main spotlights that usually illuminate his 9,000 square foot mansion were dark, but several of the lights inside the house were on.
In fact, most of the windows were lit by the familiar blue-ish hue indicating that floor lamps and ceiling fixtures were off, but TV screens and computer monitors were hard at work. (In other words, his house looked the way most houses look about 1:45am when their inhabitants are distractedly watching “Cheaters” or “Chelsea Lately” reruns.)
The kicker, though, were the dozen or so floodlights grandly highlighting several trees and illuminating the driveway entrance of Gore’s mansion.
I [kid] you not, my friends, the savior of the environment couldn’t be bothered to turn off the gaudy lights that show off his goofy trees.
Wow. Just wow.
White House still not touching gun control despite claims from other administration officials:
I think the problem the Democrats are facing is that they’ve been used to being able to sing platitudes about banning assault weapons with little or no consequence. Now every time someone well placed in the Administration opens their yap about assault weapons, Bushmaster gets another couple of months of backorder, and NRA no doubt signs up a lot of new members. That has to scare the hell out of the White House.
It is absolutely outrageous that the US has 26M fewer guns than people. Some of you are obviously not doing your part.
In other news, I didn’t know Gonzo was still around.
In Michigan:
Brown said that as more people abandon homes, eating away at the city’s tax base and creating more blight, the city might need to examine “shutting down quadrants of the city where we (wouldn’t) provide services.”
From Tam, who notes:
How do you tell somebody “Sorry, civilization is retreating, and unless you want to be left outside the fence, you need to move.”
Alberto Gonzales (you remember him?) advocates a Southern Strategy (RACIST!!!) to keep Mexico secure. Blames the nonexistent gun show loophole.
The other biased Washington paper says that Hezbollah is using the same routes as Mexican drug gangs. Scary, if true.
ATF testified that the case of assault weapons flowing into Mexico was overstated. Now, a few alerts issued by the ATF notes that it’s mostly handguns. Well, yeah, those tend to be preferred by criminals. Hard to store an AK in your shorts.
The administration doesn’t seem to be at all on the same page about the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons.
Not matter how often this canard is dispelled, it’s parroted over and over in the press and by politicians.
You know what would secure Mexico from US guns? Border control. But they’d still have weapons because a lot them (namely the military hardware) is coming from their south.
Les has one. It was a pretty small show but there were plenty of people there. I sold a few things I was no longer using. Prices were ridiculous on ammo and anything black and semi-automatic. A Bushmaster with a rail system was going for over $2K. Well, it wasn’t going. It was sitting on a table with that price on it. I spent $60 on 50 rounds of Golden Saber 230 grain 45 ACP. And that was a good deal given that regular price was $80. I used to buy that for about $36.
Handguns were still reasonably priced but magazines were spendy. It was $75 (IIRC) for those 31 round Glock magazines.
Still, it was The City (My The City)’s first gun show. And I’d call it a success.
In San Francisco, there is a proposal to regulate assault weapon magazines (whatever those are):
Plans for necessary monitoring of assault weapon cartridges [♠,♦]
The details: Two Bay Area politicians announced plans to introduce legislation that would create a system for regulating and tracking assault weapon magazines in California. [♣] The announcement by state Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, and Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, comes four days after a wanted parolee gunned down four Oakland officers, two allegedly with an AK-47.
To my knowledge, no one has yet confirmed what the weapon used in the shootings was. The press says AK but they use that term for almost any rifle. And we know that the police have not (and perhaps will not) confirm what sort of weapon it was.
So, the Obama administration asked GM’s CEO to resign. And he did. Probably means we’re picking up the tab on the severance. Anyway, this is how business will be done in the era of ridiculous subsidies and bail outs. They let the .gov in and now they have their piece.
A bit back, I said they came in threes. And the third one happened. A shooting in a nursing home in NC. Dr. Helen notes that these types attempt to reach out before going nuts. Odd, I think.
Five out of six economists agree that the fed caused the housing bubble. Well, duh. Anyone who paid any attention knew that.
A tea party to protest government spending and taxing is canceled. Canceled by the government.
Why? They feel too many people could show-up.
Criminals should stop using guns to rob people. After all, someone will just take it from you and shoot you with it.
COALITION TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE
We are now accepting applications for Summer 2009
Join the gun violence prevention movement and learn how to fight the gun lobby on Capitol Hill and inform the nation about the need for stricter gun laws.
My dad decided, based on my post, that it was a good idea. He came by today and now we’re both sitting on the porch sipping some Evan Williams Single Barrel that he bought. And I have a Rocky Patel Vintage 99 and he has a Gurkha Legend.
From their 2009 rule book on pages 8-9:
Under no circumstances will any logo, slogan or promotional language be permitted that Harrah’s, acting in its sole discretion, determines:
[...]
Advertises any non-prescription or non “over the counter” drug, tobacco product, handgun or handgun ammunition;
So, it’s OK to advertise a questionably lawful product like online poker sites, though they do stipulate some convoluted rules to make sure the ads are for free sites. But those free sites go directly to pay sites. But advertising lawful products is forbidden.
President and congress to look at the BCS system.
And in Tennessee, important business:
Addressing the scourge of saggy pants.
Every few years, we have a dog and pony show about whether or not the legislature should apologize for slavery. We’re having that now.
Good:
State Halts Gun Permit Renewals for Felons
Convicted felons may be headed into another run-in with the law if they try to renew their permits to carry handguns.
That’s because the state is now running new background checks.
Kinda sad that one would congratulate the state for doing what it’s supposed to do anyway, I guess.
BBC:
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pledging further effort to help Mexico in its anti-drugs campaign.
Mrs Clinton said the use of military-style assault weapons was a particular concern, and she would discuss reimposing a ban on their sale.
A previous US decision to lift a ban on such sales had been a mistake, she told the NBC television network.
Interesting. A commenter notes:
Cam Edwards just quoted Clinton in Mex saying she supported the 1994 AWB but it had an expiration date.
Hearing this I thought hmmmm, did the Mex Murder rate jump in 2004?
turns out yes it did.
2000 14.11
2001 13.94
2002 13.04
2003 17.52004 11.1
2005 10.6
2006 10.8
Les looks at Tuff Products Revolver Quick Strips.
One of the reasons I prefer semi-auto handguns.
Raids of medical marijuana producing facilities continues.
That will teach those potheads.
Kansas House and Senate have passed a right to keep and bear arms constitutional amendment.
Bill to ban private sales defeated in Illinois.
Storage bill defeated in Illinois.
Good. If the anti-gunners can’t get traction in Illinois (even after a couple of highly publicized shootings), I doubt they’ll be effective elsewhere.
That’s one of the plans in Illinois. Race is pretty much how gun control started in the US.
A bill to outlaw gardening?
Update: False alarm. Well, maybe. It is factcheck.
It’s ten o’clock in the PM and I am sitting on the back porch sipping bourbon and enjoying a fine Rocky Patel Vintage 1990.
ETA: Speaking of, while I do my Spring cleaning, I like to again prime and season my humidor. Also a good time to replenish your stash. I don’t smoke cigars when it’s cold outside and didn’t notice my supply was light. A quick trip to ThompsonCigar.com remedied that.
Bob:
Drug tests for welfare recipients. What a great idea. And I know that being a fair and non-vindictive sort, West Virginia lawmaker Craig Blair will also start demanding drug testing for everyone who receives government handouts — from tax breaks to bailouts to states that take more from the federal tax system than they contribute to it.
I would actually support Bob’s idea because the side effect would be less government spending.
According to polls, the American people are not buying it:
The poll, which was conducted March 20-23 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.5 percentage points, asked 4,523 likely voters:
“Mexican officials, gun control groups and officials at the Department of Homeland Security claim drug cartels are crossing the U.S. border in order to obtain guns illicitly. Others say that the Mexican drug cartels are equipped with military hardware including grenades, anti-tank missiles and mortars – all weapons that are not available to the American public. Which of the following do you think is the main source for Mexican drug cartel arms?”
Sixty-five percent of voters say that the international black market is the main source for Mexican drug cartel arms; while only 13.5 percent think these arms are coming from U.S. gun stores (3.5 percent think the arms are coming from somewhere else and 18 percent are not sure).
Among voters aged 18-29 years old, one of President Obama’s strongest groups of supporters, 73 percent say international black market, and just six percent say U.S. gun stores (two percent say somewhere else and 19 percent are not sure).
A strong majority of self-described Independent voters (66 percent) also say that the international black market is main source of arms for Mexican drug cartels, and only 12 percent say U.S. gun stores (four percent say somewhere else and 19 percent are not sure).
Good.
Once more, it’s misleading.
The other biased Washington paper reports:
Mexico has long tried to get the United States to curtail the number of guns – many purchased legally – that wind up south of the border, where gun laws are much stricter. The State Department says firearms obtained in the United States account for more than 90 percent of Mexico’s drug-related killings.
Interestingly, this picture accompanies the article. Are the grenades and the LAW Rocket coming from the US? Probably not. They’re illegal here. Also, I find it curious that all rifles are displayed with their selector switch down.
A few dated articles from Second Amendment Democrats but relevant today:
Don’t Think of an Assault Weapon! Terms of the Debate on Semi-Automatics
Top 10 Myths about Semi-Automatic Firearms and the 1994 Ban
More Democrats like this please.
We’ve heard parroted in the media over an over that the shooter in Oakland who killed some police officers used an assault weapon. It has never been named and, usually to the press, any gun is an AK47. It has been reported also that it was fully automatic (i.e., a machine gun). So, what was it? Well, Bill Quick sought to find out. The answer he received from the police (of all people) was surprising to me.
Me neither. But they talked the talk when they were out of power. Any way, remember Bush’s record deficits? Ain’t seen nothing yet.
Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership advocates that the US should adopt some Mexican gun laws:
Sebastian reminds Paul that this would amount to a sweeping gun ban.
For Christmas, I bought my wife a few house cleanings from professional cleaning services. I wasn’t sure how the gift would go over but I was pleased to learn she liked the gift. Anyway, I learned last week from the cleaning lady that WD 40 works well for cleaning stainless steel. That was the cleanest our stainless kitchen has ever looked.
However, I did not know you could repair and inflate a tire with WD-40:
Reports Brent: By the end of 2008, NRA headquarters was swamped with membership applications.
Bill to remove restriction on concealed carry in parks advances.
Tennessee’s legislature is looking at a bill that would prohibit employers from banning firearms in an employee’s car in the employer’s parking lot. Not sure how I come down on this one.
In Florida, there was a push for such a law a bit back that I mildly supported. The reason I mildly supported it was because in FL, it was a special crime to carry on an employee lot when they said not to instead of just trespassing. The bill in Tennessee simply says that an employer may not ban possession by employees of weapons in their cars on the employers parking lot. It’s a sticky issue since the parking lot is the employer’s property and the vehicle is the employee’s property.
Via Chas Sisk says that some employers aren’t happy about it:
Employers are objecting to a bill that would let gun owners take firearms into workplace parking lots. (Wrong. They can do that already but employers can forbid that practice. – ed)
Sen. Dewayne Bunch has introduced legislation, SB 1724, that would let holders of handgun carry permits take their weapon into company parking lots and leave them in their locked vehicles. (Wrong again – ed.)
But speaking at a subcommittee hearing Wednesday morning, representatives for Bridgestone, the Tennessee Hospitality Association and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the bill would hurt companies’ ability to write rules to protect their workers.
What about the workers’ ability to protect themselves?
Pretty much: It didn’t work. They realize it’s not working. So they want to do it again.
checking out the Amazon Auto Affiliate Linker plug in (via Les) with this: Ultimate Survival Kit.
I thought it was an arsenal.
Over at arfcom, they’re noting foxnews did a bit on a cache of weapons smuggled into Mexico from the US. Video supposedly shows three over/under shotguns. No doubt, they are machine gun over/under shotguns.
Not found a link yet. Have you?
Pop quiz, which of the following is an assault weapon:
[...]
If you answered “D)all of the above” congratulations, you qualify for a California Senate seat! You’d also be wrong.
I realize that the likelihood of me encountering a Komodo Dragon in the wild is about the same as my chances of encountering a leprechaun or global warming, but Tam asks:
What gun for lizard?
I’d say the same gun you use for face-eating monkeys.
ATF and other federal agents are going to the border:
Hundreds of federal agents, along with high-tech surveillance gear and drug-sniffing dogs, are headed to the Southwest to help Mexico fight drug cartels and keep violence from spilling across the U.S.-Mexico border, Obama administration officials said Tuesday
Good. Meanwhile, other groups join in the chorus and blame US gun laws. And the Brady Campaign blames a specific gun dealer, who was actually found not guilty due to lack of any evidence.
Now I see why the Violence Policy Center has a Federal Firearms License. So they can spin how easy it is to buy guns:
Tom Diaz, an analyst at the Violence Policy Center, a gun control group, said cartels use military-style weapons such as the Armalite AR-50, a .50-caliber sniper rifle.
He brought one to a recent congressional hearing — with the help of two police officers — and said he found the weapon on the Internet, bought it for $3,200 from a Maryland “kitchen table” dealer and had it registered in the District of Columbia, all in about six hours.
See, now they can say look how easy it is to get this gun. Well, it is if you hold a federal firearms license. After all, 50 caliber rifles are unlawful to possess in the District of Columbia unless you are a dealer or police agency.
And insty notes the Mexican gun canard continues to be treated as gospel in the press.
Tom alerts us to the Mexican ambassador to the US claiming that 90% of the guns in Mexico originate in the US. I would say that any gun in Mexico that is not an AK variant probably originated in the US because it was likely made here. But where do the rocket launchers and grenades originate? From the news, you’d think US gun shows but that is patently false. But I would guess that some of those originate in the US because they are made here.
It is my belief, and I could be wrong–like I said yesterday, the more I learn, the less I realize I know–, that for many Tennessee Democrats, they are Democrats because they are. Not because they believe in any mutual goals or subscribe to a broad, similar philosophy, but just because. So, I’m not sure what being a Democrat in Tennessee means.
I’m not sure anyone does.
All it means is that they’re not those other guys.
Some major pants-shitting in Chicago over something that makes sense:
State Representative Annazette Collins found herself in the hot seat after she suggested that kids be educated about guns. She says downstate, children are educated about weapons at a young age….why not in more urban areas.
“Down state they teach you that guns are meant for hunting, for protection..here in the urban cities, all they see are guns on tv..and they gun down people.” said Collins.
When I was in high school, you took hunters safety as part of Phys Ed or ROTC.
Mongolian beef from a blog that has a great name.
Blueberry dump cake because even survivalists like dessert.
Did you know that you can now be convicted of drunk driving without actually driving.
There is actually tax law for parents of kidnapped children.
Tom points out that a story I linked to was not accurate. I would say it was my error except that, uh, it wasn’t.
As I have said here before, I am a senior technical executive at a large bank.
As it happens, a bank that was forced at gunpoint, by the secretary of the treasury and chairman of the federal reserve, to accept TARP funds (as all the top surviving banks in the U.S were).
Let me be clear. We did not want TARP funds, or need them; but were told in no uncertain terms that we WOULD take them.
As obscene as that is, it is irrelevant to what follows; excepting that we did take TARP funds.
The United States House of Representatives recently passed a blatantly unconstitutional bill, placing confiscatory tax burdens on anyone making more than $250,000 and working for an institution that received more than 5 billion of TARP funds.
Also, since they forced them to take money, they can regulate corporate travel.
Update: Equally scary:
The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document.
You can get a one year membership to the NRA for free.
Update: Commenters tell me that the site crashes when you hit submit. Let me know if it works for you.
More misrepresentation that rocket launchers are heading into Mexico from the US. Insty also says:
If rocket launchers and grenades are making it into Mexico from the United States, it’s because they’re being sold out the back door of military and police armories, since civilian gun stores don’t sell them.
Say, anyone know the rate of desertion from the Mexican army? About 150K in 6 years? Hmm.
Tennessee lawmakers, like those in other state Legislatures now pursuing the National Rifle Association’s radical agenda, have far too little concern for the “well-regulated militia” side of the Second Amendment’s gun rights.
The right to arms is not contingent upon membership in a well-regulated militia. Heller settled that. And:
If they thought about it, they would require a range of regulations that could vastly help law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
Well, it is illegal for criminals to have guns.
Via ACK.
I dig those fancy FN P90 Personal Defense Weapons you guys are using to defend your precious cargo. However, they’d be more effective if you actually had magazines in them.
Local Restaurateur Mike Chase chats with Betty Bean about the guns in restaurants bill. Mr. Chase owns a few of the prominent local chains, most of which are OK but Calhoun’s has some good beer that they brew themselves. I like their Porter. Says Chase:
Water goes with scotch. Coke goes with Jack Daniels – but guns and alcohol just don’t mix
Water never goes into Scotch.
And guns and alcohol do not mix, which is why the bill in question and Tennessee law in general prohibit drinking while being armed. But facts aren’t at issue here, I suppose. That’s why the debate is usually framed as guns in bars because if we framed it honestly as, say, the guns at Pizza Hut bill or I don’t want to leave a gun in the car when I hit the Ruby Tuesday’s salad bar at lunch bill then that doesn’t really get the emotional reaction you’re going for here. And we can’t have that.
Last night, I stopped off at a local eatery to grab some food to take home. I didn’t know if the place served alcohol or not. So, I had to decide whether to leave my gun in the car or take it with me. Looking at a coin flip, I erred on the side of not leaving the weapon in the car. Went in, picked up my food, and still don’t know if I broke the law or not. I didn’t see alcohol advertised there. But it could have been on the menu. That’s how the debate of this bill should be framed.
Chase continues:
It’ll be worse than the Wild West – back then, they wore their guns on their hips where you could see them. Wyatt Earp made them take off their guns when they went into bars. This is ridiculous. Crazy. There are a million scenarios where this could be a disaster – jealous boyfriends, jealous girlfriends, jealous spouses. It’s a bad, bad idea, and whoever is pushing it is absolutely irresponsible. I am always going to oppose anything that will endanger my customers and employees.
Starts off with Ravenwood’s Law. But those scenarios play out with almost the frequency of winning lotteries. And they would also be illegal. You see, all of Tennessee’s neighbor states, except North Carolina, allow handgun carry in places that serve alcohol. And they don’t experience any sort of substantive increase in deadly situations. And you’re in luck, Mr. Chase, since even if the law passes, you, as a property owner, can still prohibit the carrying of arms at your establishment.
Via Linoge who has a lot more.
Update: More here.
Update 2: Will he ban cars in his parking lot?
A look at Mexican gun laws in action.
Meanwhile, insty notes that the canard of Military hardware flowing into Mexico from the US is being parroted by the press. The LA Times (yes, that LA Times) who is known to shill for any anti-gun cause notes:
Most of these weapons are being smuggled from Central American countries or by sea, eluding U.S. and Mexican monitors who are focused on the smuggling of semiauto- matic and conventional weapons purchased from dealers in the U.S. border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Ya think?
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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