Pro-gun professors in Texas:
Mass public shootings are a horrific feature of modern life. Many of the bloodiest examples of this scourge have occurred on college campuses. As professors, we are particularly sensitive to this danger.
Despite this – no, because of this – we support a bill currently pending in the Texas Legislature that would permit the concealed carrying of firearms on college and university campuses in the state by holders of concealed-handgun permits.
Some reform advocated from inside the agency. Via David who reminds us that:
I’ve griped about the agency as much as anyone, but the bottom line is there are folks with it who are decent, and folks who are not, and the problem is that the folks who are not get promoted, get into power, and are in positions to shaft those who are decent.
I think we often forget that a lot of ATF agents are gunnies too.
So, you’re sitting around having a coffee on the porch when a 102-pound artillery shell lands in your yard. With a pic.
From TriggerFinger. Pro-tip: kittens and explosives don’t mix.
Well, not at first.
The House has voted 45-44 to reject Senate changes to a bill to allow people with handgun permits to carry their weapons into establishments that sell alcoholic drinks.
The House had earlier passed the proposal sponsored Rep. Curry Todd, a Collierville Republican, that included an 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, and a ban on bringing guns into age-restricted bars.
The Senate version does not include those restrictions.
The Senate now has the option of agreeing to the original House version, or the a conference committee will be appointed to try to seek a compromise.
Word is, the latest bill to ban access to the handgun carry database has advanced in the house. Again.
Also, the governor won’t state a position on the guns in restaurants bill. It has passed the house and senate.
Clenched fist salute: ACK.
Yesterday in the mail, I received a solicitation from the American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens. It was addressed to me. The letter began by acknowledging that I had a handgun carry permit. So, it seems, people are getting the data to market to folks they think are like-minded. If you have a permit, I’d be curious to know if you also receive such a solicitation.
The best sandwich: Muffuletta, Reuben, Patty Melt, Bacon Double Cheeseburger, or Fluffernutter?
Perhaps worthy of the list is my brother in law’s Italian Redneck Hotdog. Grill up some Italian sausage, put it on a hotdog bun with some spaghetti sauce of choice and mozzarella. But I’m leaving it off the poll because you probably haven’t had one. But you should.
Seems the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that violent crime has drastically decreased in the city. It’s a shocker to them and the local authorities as to why that is as everyone lines up to take credit. But it seems that it correlates strongly to the passage of concealed carry laws:
The peak for murder and violence in Minneapolis was 2005. And what happened in 2005? Why, the Minnesota Personal Protection Act took effect.
We gunnies usually talk about, well, guns when it comes to self-defense. But Brillianter, in a must read post, highlights another important tool in your arsenal: your voice.
Yup: Here is how bad the media is when it comes to guns: a Washington Post reporter writing a piece on gun policy literally *does not recognize a felony when it is committed in front of him.*
Parks officials in Knoxville and Knox County oppose a bill before a state Senate committee today that would allow city and county governments to decide whether to allow people with carry permits to take guns in local parks.
Well, they can still decide to ban them in their parks. Bonus PSH:
You take a ballfield situation that could be very heated and you have a coach or a fan that could get upset, a gun would not make that much better. We’ve already found a gun that fell out of someone’s pocket. Luckily a child found it and went to their parent.
Unpossible. Guns aren’t allowed there.
It’s worse than a mere ban on private sales. Also, one of the bill’s sponsors is Kirsten Gillibrand:
isn’t this the same Kirsten Gillibrand everyone was sending money to because she was such a pro-gun Democrat?
I’m sure there’s a lot of buyers’ remorse for her, now.
Impressions from a new shooter:
We shot the pants off those suckers, and that was a lot of fun.
We’ve been saying that for a while. But an ATF agent says the same thing to Greta Van Susteren:
According to the ATF spokesperson interviewed, while the military-grade machine guns used by Mexican drug cartels are being imported from Central America, “the predominate amount of weapons we see are being purchased here [the U.S.] and being traffic to Mexico.”
Bonus: she interviews our old friend ATF Special Agent Thomas Mangan.
Via John Lott.
Also, Jacob Sullum: The violence in Mexico is caused by prohibition, not firearms.
Same as in the US.
“My message to my troops is if you see anybody carrying a gun on the streets of Milwaukee, we’ll put them on the ground, take the gun away and then decide whether you have a right to carry it,” Flynn said. “Maybe I’ll end up with a protest of cowboys. In the meantime, I’ve got serious offenders with access to handguns. It’s irresponsible to send a message to them that if they just carry it openly no one can bother them.”
This despite a ruling that open carry is lawful.
I rather like Glenn’s response to the situation. Ravenwood says it should be the catalyst to pass concealed carry laws there since Wisconsin is one of two states with no concealed carry provision.
The following is a memo that went out to the Contra Costa Police Chiefs’ Association from Contra Costa District Attorney Bob Kochly.
The memo states that because of budget cuts, several crimes will and will and will not be prosecuted, Kochly lists those crimes below.
Looks like Lautenberg held a very Brady press conference on the bill he introduced. Details of the bill can be found here.
Video of S&W 625 malfunction during an IPSC match:
Update: Guy who shot the video discusses it here.
The manager of an Atlanta restaurant, Taco Mac, stopped an armed robbery Sunday morning by firing his own gun at the armed robber. What makes this story ironic is that the CEO of the company that owns this particular Taco Mac was one of the people that strenuously fought against the passage of the Georgia law last year that made it legal to carry a firearm in this restaurant.
No middle ground found on bill that would close access to handgun permit database
A House subcommittee is taking up a proposal to close Tennessee’s database of state-issued permits to carry loaded handguns from public inspection.
The measure sponsored by retired sheriff and Prospect Democratic Rep. Eddie Bass had been delayed for three weeks in the House Budget Subcommittee. The panel’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Harry Tindell of Knoxville, had said he wanted to find a compromise with open government advocates.
But Tindell says he was not able to find an acceptable middle ground.
So, let me get this straight. Tennessee State Senators Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and their merry band of Tennessee House Republicans want to make it more difficult for some citizens of Tennessee to vote (the elderly, indigent, and the disabled, if you must know) by pushing legislation that would require proof of citizenship (via a birth certificate, passport, or driver’s license) to register to vote, and then requiring a photo ID every time they go to vote, at the same time that they are passing legislation asking for less identification to buy a gun?
She links to the bill to eliminate the thumbprint requirement. Funny thing about that. See, the state law enforcement folks all got together and noted that no one actually used the fingerprints. So, they’re kinda pointless. So, why require it, right? But, hey, if we’re going to require such reasonable restrictions on second amendment rights, why not apply those to other rights as well? She then brings out this boner:
Number of murders committed recently in Tennessee by gun permit holders: 3
Number of cases of voter fraud committed in Tennessee by registered voters: 0*
Yeah, right. See Memphis, she said, had election fraud and not voter fraud. Because that’s different. Maybe if we required the dead people to submit a thumbprint, then they wouldn’t have voted.
Via ACK.
A record number of Oklahomans are seeking permits to carry concealed handguns.
A continuing trend.
Got the new Glock Annual in the mail the other day. They’re offering the 17 with the Rough Textured Frame, known as the fourth generation. The Firearm Blog has a pic of the fourth generation Glock. Also, I noticed that Glock’s 10mm caliber pistols (the G20 and G29) will be available in the slimmer SF models.
Eugene Volokh notes the infamous VPC quote on assault weapons. Yeah, that’s been known and reported for a while. Well, except in the press.
Clayton Cramer has a blog that tracks Civilian Gun Self Defense instances. Well, it just logged its 4,000th reported incident. He looks at the numbers too.
More from Linoge.
Step one was force folks to take TARP money. Step two is dictate what those who receive it have to do. Then, more control. And to keep it up, refuse repayment of TARP loans.
Hope and change.
So, Miss USA did not pass the liberal gay marriage test. Seriously: who thought it would be a good idea to have a gay man judging this?
And why is it a problem for Miss USA to have that opinion and, you know, not for the president and VP of the US: I didn’t hear the outrage when Joe Biden said that he and Barack Obama are against gay marriage. No incendiary language, no insults, no four letter obscenities. Can Miss USA actually impact policy?
Remember those 10 signs you’re living in a Banana Republic? Well, if there were 11, it would be that the new governing power prosecutes the former governing power. No good can come from this:
President Obama left open the door Tuesday for charges to be brought against Bush administration lawyers who justified harsh interrogation techniques, though he continued to argue that CIA agents who used those tactics should not be prosecuted.
Update: It does occur to me (based on Nomen’s comment) that there are instances in which prosecution may be acceptable. But it’s a line that, once crossed, can lead to all kinds of bad.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership is touting legislation to require background checks on private transfers. Introduced by Frank Lautenberg
If true, pure lunacy:
Behind the wheel, you want the least amount of distraction possible. So why is a local transportation agency painting crooked lines on the road on purpose?
The Virginia Department of Transportation says it’s part of a safety campaign to get drivers to slow down in a high pedestrian and bicycle area. The 500 feet of zig-zagging lines are painted on the ground on Belmont Ridge Road, where it intersects with the Washington and Old Dominion trail in Loudoun County.
At Pith in the Wind, we’re accustomed to Jeff Woods’ inability to string two complex thoughts together and overall lack of general mental functioning. And we know they spend their time soiling their pretty panties because Republicans run the legislature in the state now. But they’ve reached a new level of stupid. Now, we have Pete Kotz stating that the Aryan Nation, which is having trouble getting new members, should try a bit of recruitment at the TN Legislative Plaza. The reason is because some legislators aren’t buying on to the token gesture of apologizing for slavery that does nothing but lead to political posturing.
Classy, eh?
Sarah Palin to receive an AR-15:
NRA members, keep an eye out for your copy of American Rifleman, if it hasn’t already arrived. According to the latest edition of the magazine, Bob Reynolds, owner of Templar Consulting LLC, will make a special presentation at the NRA Foundation Banquet on May 14.
It’s a modified AR-15 (civilian version of the milspec M16 rifle), specially customized in honor of Gov. Sarah Palin. Chambered for .50 Beowulf instead of the standard 5.56mm cartridge, this special AR features several custom engravings.
I guess you need a .50 to hunt moose.
DHS takes an interest in a man for buying 1,000 rounds of ammo:
West said a customer of his recently stocked up on .223-caliber rounds, a caliber often used in assault-style weapons. The customer bought 1,000 rounds a few months ago through a mail order company.
Shortly after the purchase, he received a visit from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, whose interest was apparently piqued by a large-scale purchase of that caliber.
Large scale? Hardly. Sounds more like a fun weekend to me. Well, I usually buy it 500 at a time. Probably explains why I haven’t had a visit.
Via David.
Seems the authorities caught a major gun dealer who used his wife and others for straw purchases. The guns were then illegally sold in NYC. Bloomberg cut a deal with the guy. This explains why the feds were a bit perturbed at Bloomie’s actions a bit back.
Bad move: President Obama has nominated Mothers Against Drunk Driving CEO Chuck Hurley to head up the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A life-long anti-alcohol activist.
Buckeye firearms reports on ABC’s recent hit piece on guns:
The “Jan” listed as a gun-owning father in this story is Jan Nickels – an old friend from grade/high school, who still currently lives only about 5 miles from me. He is an ex-Marine and is well-schooled in firearms and firearm safety. We are fellow members of the same local shooting club.
I called Jan as soon as I read the story. As it turns out, ABC News tricked Jan and others to participate in what was obviously always been intended to be an anti-gun attack. In fact, this story starts with a false premise and goes quickly downhill. At this point I will let Jan tell the rest of his story:
I periodically get requests to talk to the press about guns. And this is why I typically don’t. And I’ve mentioned before why I do not.
More stuff from around the net on Nordyke.
David Hardy has additional thoughts and notes that it doesn’t look good for the city of Chicago’s brief.
Volokh: What Now for the Question Whether the Second Amendment is Incorporated Against State and Local Governments?
Kevin has a lot more.
Investors Business Daily calls it bogus.
Wayne LaPierre: They’re trying to piggyback this whole phony issue on the back of the tragedy in Mexico
Guns in parks bill passes the house 71-22.
Also: The House approved 88-4 Monday night a bill that declares the guns of Tennesseans cannot be seized during periods of martial rule. I thought they passed that already?
VPC mailer on the anniversary of Columbine blames gun laws. No mention that 19 gun control laws were broken by the duo.
Big news. Ninth Circuit panel opinion incorporates the second amendment via the 14th amendment in Nordyke v. King. Opinion is here.
From David Hardy, who says:
Court incorporates the 2A on a selective incorporation, due process, theory, holding that the right is a fundamental one, deeply rooted in Anglo-American history, and traditionally seen as a natural right rather than a politically-created one.
More from Eugene Volokh.
My preferred brand of bear spray (comes in 230 grain doses) is currently not allowed in parks pending an environmental review. Turns out, the other brand of bear spray is also illegal in the Smokies.
In an extremely disconcerting scenario, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has approved an application to transfer an NFA firearm, while acknowledging that the trust was not valid.
ATF approved the trust and noted it was not valid. This could, of course, lead to ATF initiating forfeiture proceedings.
With the 2009 fiscal year in the books, handgun manufacturer GLOCK, Inc. has announced a 36% increase in pistol sales over 2008 sales. Coming off of five consecutive years of sustained growth, the company that focuses exclusively on semi-automatic handguns for Commercial, Law Enforcement and Federal/Military sales is preparing for another strong year in FY 2010.
She and Schumer are calling for the repeal of federal policy requiring records of gun background checks be destroyed after 24 hours. Seek to return to the 90 day limit.
How anti-gunners host a forum:
it was described by the Inquirer as “sparsely attended” and questions were only allowed from journalists and anti-gun activists who had to recount the loss of their family members in “heartbreaking detail.”
The president of Mexico issued some demands for US gun laws:
* Ban on semi-automatic rifles
* Gun owner registry
* One gun-a-month
* Enact Mexican gun laws in the United States
Obama blames the US for all Mexico’s problems. Of course, we know the issue is grossly overstated.
David Hardy looks at factcheck.org’s analysis:
The other possibility is that guns not traced to sale in a particular State include guns not sold in the US at all, but exported. In 2007, American manufacturers exported 10,530 handguns and rifles to the Mexican Ministry of Defense. Think the cartels have enough money to get their hands on as many as they want?
Now, Alaska:
The state House has approved a bill exempting guns and ammunition manufactured and kept within Alaska from federal firearms regulation, a measure critics immediately said was unconstitutional.
The House Thursday voted 32-7 in favor of the Alaska Firearms Freedom Act sponsored by Fairbanks Republican Mike Kelly and 10 co-sponsors.
I’ve watched as $90,000 in 50BMG inventory went to $0 in the last 10 days or so. Distributor-level inventories of .45ACP, 9mm, .380ACP, .223 Rem, and even .22LR have been depleted for weeks.
Never seen a woman hunt turkey in a wedding dress before.
Jay G. takes a newbie shooting.
One of our DVD players went poop. So, we need a new one. I figured I’d go ahead and get a Blu Ray unit at some point. Thing is, I know nothing about them. I gather they play DVDs as well. And some of them are wifi enabled so that you can stream audio/video from your PC.
Anyone have a recommendation?
AirSoft AK-47s, apparently. Oh, and they come from US gun shows, natch.
Bonus for ravenwood’s law too.
Update: Image changed. Heh. This was the first image she opted for.
Drug control breeds gun control. The ever evolving Mexican Gun Canard goes through another iteration.
Court upholds rules on firearms in national parks pending, and I am not making this up, an environmental assessment.
FactCheck.org, which is ordinarily in the tank for Obama, comes out and says that the 90% of guns in Mexico come from the US that the administration parrots is false:
But is it true as President Obama said, that “More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States?” No, it’s not.
The figure represents only the percentage of crime guns that have been submitted by Mexican officials and traced by U.S. officials. We can find no hard data on the total number of guns actually “recovered in Mexico,” but U.S. and Mexican officials both say that Mexico recovers more guns than it submits for tracing. Therefore, the percentage of guns “recovered” and traced to U.S. sources necessarily is less than 90 percent.
Furthermore, the 90 percent figure is based on a badly biased sample of all Mexican crime guns. Law enforcement officials say Mexico asks the U.S. to trace only those guns with serial numbers or other markings that indicate they are likely to have come though the U.S.
Fox News has put the percentage at only 17 percent, but we find that to be based on a mistaken assumption that throws its figure way off. We can’t offer a precise calculation because we know of no hard information on the total number of guns Mexican officials have recovered. But if a rough figure given by Mexico’s attorney general is accurate, then the actual percentage of all Mexican crime guns traced to U.S. sources is probably less than half what the president claims, and more than double what Fox news has reported.
If I had to guess, I would say that the majority of handguns likely do come from the US. But not 90%. I would also say that hardly any of the machine guns, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft guns the press likes to parade in photo ops comes from the US.
AN ALLEGED double killer, his accomplice and one of his victims were all carrying firearms at an anti-gun event in London, the Old Bailey heard today.
Shakah Anderson is accused of shooting dead Mohamed Korneh and Selorn Gbesenete, both 21, at the Tudor Rose night club in Southall at Unarmed 2, dedicated to stopping gun crime among young black people, the jury was told.
Campfield floats a rumor about a gun bill:
Word on the hill is Democrat leadership is planning on bringing an amendment to Frank Nicleys gun bill allowing carry permit holders to be able to carry in parks. The amendment would be brought on the full house floor and say if you have a permit you can carry everywhere that is not posted otherwise.
The rep has his doubts given the Democrat’s stalling of gun bills in recent years. But is that really an issue now that Naifeh doesn’t have the gavel?
After pledging support for international gun control, Obama was asked about the ban on politically incorrect self-loading rifles. The press says that Obama won’t seek a ban on the most popular rifles in the country. But did he really say that? No, he did not:
Now, having said that, I think none of us are under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be easy.
He wants the ban but realizes it would cost the Democrats. And, of course, a lot of the Democrats will not sign on anyway. Obama rambled on about tracing. I’m not sure what he was trying to get at there but it seems to be a reference to the Tiahrt amendment. And, of course, he misrepresents what it does.
Story kinda broke yesterday but, being at my secure and undisclosed location, I wasn’t able to blog about it. Sebastian did the heavy lifting. Anyway, it looks like Barack Obama has pledged his support for a treaty that will advocate restricting gun rights:
In addition to making illegal the unauthorized manufacture and exporting of firearms, the treaty calls for countries to adopt strict licensing requirements, mark firearms when they are made and imported to make them easier to trace, and establish a cooperative process for sharing information between national law-enforcement agencies investigating arms smuggling.
No thanks. There’s enough in there to really rile up gun owners though. You watch. Meanwhile, NRA issues a statement:
The NRA is well aware of the proposed Organization of American States treaty on firearms trafficking, known by its Spanish initials as CIFTA. The NRA monitored the development of this treaty from its earliest days, but contrary to news reports today, the NRA did not “participate” at the meeting where the treaty was approved.
More on the specifics and a copy of the treaty here.
The Wall Street Journal notes that gun sales are up. Everyone knows that. What is odd is that a paper that caters to the financial crowd says:
No one knows exactly what is behind the gun-buying craze.
Only those not paying attention. Curt notes:
This is perfectly acceptable behavior for investors…but for those who invest in guns for the same purposes, it’s all the sudden “greed?”
I find it a bit ironic that they can import M4 clones into Canada. And in the US with our supposedly lax gun laws, we can’t import rifles with 14.5 barrels or if they’re semi-automatic (generally).
Want a gun? Better be ready to discuss your sex life with a government bureaucrat:
Before renewing his gun permit in 2007, the authorities decided to inquire into Lemieux’s bedroom history. Did he divorce anyone in the last two years? Did he break up with a girlfriend? If yes, use a separate sheet to explain.
Pardon me? Explain?
Well, it was nothing personal. Apparently, Canada’s government feels it ought to know the romantic status of all firearm owners.
We’ve covered the bill in Montana that exempts guns made in the state from federal gun laws quite a bit. Turns out, the governor signed the bill into law. Dave Kopel has thoughts.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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