Note to eco-terrorists: when torching cars, do so from a distance.

Everyone keeps saying Fred! Thompson is done for. Fred! is finished. Yet, he’s always the target of the the dirty tricks, like this recent push poll and Romney’s dirty pool. If he’s done, why the all-out-push against him?

And Fred! has the Phelps endorsement.

TN Senator Tommy Kilby (BTW, you look over the age of 8 shouldn’t it be Tom or Thomas?) has proposed a bill to make the possession of pit bulls (as very loosely defined in the bill) unlawful:

It is an offense for any person to knowingly own a pit bull dog in this state.

And this is awesome:

This act shall take effect July 1, 2008, the public welfare requiring it.

We seem to have gotten along without it thus far. You can contact Tommy and let him know that breed specific legislation is pointless at:

District Address
118 Henry Heidel Lane
Wartburg, TN 37887

Nashville Address
10A Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243-0212
Phone (615) 741-1449
Fax (615) 253-0237
Staff Contact: Nadine Korby, Jeremy Davis, Research Analyst

Or email him here Sen. Tommy Kilby

The bill would, specifically, ban Politically Incorrect Dog.

Update: The AKC is on it:

It is imperative that Tennessee dog owners contact both their State Senator and State Representative and voice their strong opposition to SB 2738.

To find your Tennessee State Senator, go to the Tennessee General Assembly home page. On the left side of the page, click “Senate”, then click “Members”.

To find your Tennessee State Representative, go to the Tennessee General Assembly home page. On the left side of the page, click “House”, then click “Members”.

Aunt B.:

I don’t know how we ensure this never gets out of committee, but we’ve got to do it. Tell me, folks what can be done and I’ll be at the capitol doing it.

Glenn Reynolds and Brannon Denning have a piece on the Heller case here.

Via Glenn.

Heh.

The US government has agreed to give access of trace data to Mexico:

US Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Mexican police who seized arms could use the system to notify the US who would then target the dealers.

Seattle weighs in. Apparently, 11 cities support handgun bans. Also:

Seattle, Milwaukee and other large U.S. cities are warning the Supreme Court that gun-control laws around the nation would be jeopardized if the justices decide to eliminate the local District of Columbia ban on handguns.

Well, that was kinda the point.

The old blog odometer clicked over the 2M mark last night.

Spot the assault weapon!

The ban on weapons that look like assault weapons that all three of you support would ban the most popular sporting rifle in the country today. Just thought I’d let you know. And, of course, the fact that the ban did nothing to prevent crime.

Looks like the senate passed the bill overwhelmingly:

The state Senate passed a bill today to allow gun carry permit holders to take their firearms into bars.

The bill passed 24-6. The permit holder carrying the gun into a place that serves alcohol is not allowed to consume alcohol under the legislation.

Rob is right, though. Naifeh will kill it like he has for about four years now. Says Rob:

It is a serious failure on the part of pro-firearm groups that Jimmy Naifeh hasn’t been politically removed from the Speaker’s chair.

Ayup.

John Lott:

I normally like NCIS on CBS, but this week was extremely disappointing. This week’s show entitled “Tribes” starts off with the absurd claim that “Nearly 30 percent of all gun related deaths are the result of the owners’ own weapon.”

I seem to recall reading that a fairly high number of police officers are killed with their own weapon.

I’ve addressed misinformation in cop dramas before, including that they get you acclimated to the notion that you don’t have certain rights and that cops are better than regular citizens.

Machine guns.

In SEALS and Robbers, Marko addresses the Ninjafication of the police, something I’ve addressed before.

The Geek explains why popular vote is bad.

So, a guy at a national lab was alleged making some side money selling gun accessories taken from work on Ebay:

A federal agency has ordered the Energy Department to reinstate a training specialist fired after a Pantex probe into illegal Internet sales of government-issued rifle scopes and laser aiming devices.

Details:

A special agent testified that Bilodeau sold Sizemore a government-issued rifle scope and a laser targeting system similar to those used by Special Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bilodeau testified that he issued some items to Sizemore, but expected him to return them under the agency’s “honor system” policy.

The administrative judge assigned rejected the government’s findings and ordered it to reinstate Bilodeau. The Energy Department has not appealed the ruling.

Hell, they can’t even fire you for it.

Criminals break the law to get guns. Who knew?

When ATF decides you are. In other news, the ATF has never heard of milsurp firearms:

Over 75 percent of the firearms purchased by Novick retailed at less than $170. This information is not consistent with firearms being purchased by an individual purchaser for enhancement of his personal collection

Brittney on Romney:

Forget the fact that he flips positions more than Jenna Jameson.

In other news, bitter reports that Jenna Jameson is retiring.

Hey, they might pass a bill to allow wine to be sold at the grocery store.

So, I’ve mentioned in the past that I was getting spam in Spanish, Chinese, and other languages. Now, I’m getting it from myself. Seriously, its says it’s from me.

Michael Silence and Adam Kleinheider both have posts on a subject that is critically important. It is about our freedom.

Tennessee State Sen. Jamie Woodson’s office has introduced legislation to the Tennessee General Assembly that would require convicted sex offenders in Tennessee to provide all electronic communications information to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

On its face it doesn’t sound so bad does it?

Michael Silence writes, “Wow, am I conflicted on this one. On the one hand I’m a father of a princess who will be four in March. On the other hand, I have consistently decried the loss of civil liberties, privacy and individual freedoms.

Adam Kleinheider writes, “First They Came For The Deviants…”, alluding to the fact that is doesn’t take long to lose freedom.

Any of you every wonder if we allow the Constitution to be discarded for child molesters or sex offenders that someday soon it might be discarded for us?

If this is a condition of probation then fine. That is a legal contract. People can surrender their rights with a legal contract. That is a completely different issue.

But if a person has served their full sentence this should be unconstitutional.

“Governor Woodson”, I don’t think so. Ms. Woodson, your homework assignment is to study the United States Constitution. You should be ashamed. How misinformed can you be?

I hate to go all ACLU on this but defending the Constitution is one of the most important things any America can do. And it means making some unpleasant positions. The Constitution must apply to ALL citizens. The moment we allow it to be vacated for certain groups of people is the day we allow the Constitution to be destroyed.

I find this to be repugnant. This is how you lose your freedom. It starts with a law to control the worst of the worst. In the end, there is no personal freedom or rights.

He smacks the Bush administration on guns:

Asked his opinion of the Second Amendment and the Solicitor General’s request that the DC Circuit Court remand the appeal back to the trial court for “fact-finding”, the lawyer turned Senator from Tennessee said the Bush Administration was “overlawyering” and stated that he opposed remand and that the case should move forward to the U.S. Supreme Court.

More from Fred here.

Today, I thought the old blog would hit the 2,000,000 visitor mark. But Sitemeter is malfunctioning and says no one has been here since about 5 in the morning. Bummer.

Electile Dysfunction.

Kirk, noting PGP got his permit, quips:

Too bad for the rest of us peasants, because unless you are connected you are not going to get one.

Jeff has the transcripts from their debate. Clinton wants a registry of felons and no pre-emption of local laws by the feds (no one tell her about Heller). So, another registry of felons? How many of these laws need passed to get that? We’ve now had three. And she wants to reinstate her husband’s ban on weapons that look like assault weapons.

Obama wants to license and register gun owners. But says it can’t be done. References trace data.

Edwards opposes registration. But says of the ban on weapons that look like assault weapons: I’ll do everything in my power to reinstate it.

Where’s Richardson when you need him?

Jeff has a lot more.

Advice on self-defense:

The self-defense instructors from Atlanta Budokan showed off what to do if you are grabbed — if you can, fight, kick, and use what they said is your best weapon — your voice.

Your voice is only good at drawing attention and it’s only effective at that if someone is within earshot. A 45 does that too. Oh, and it can actually stop an attack.

Continuing:

But the bigger message — awareness.

That I agree with.

So, my local state rep has proposed a bill:

Sergeants-at-arms in the Tennessee General Assembly would be allowed to carry guns under legislation being proposed by Sen. Raymond Finney.
The Maryville Republican said the legislation is necessary to protect visitors and members of the General Assembly.

Under the legislation, “special” sergeants-at-arms would be appointed by speakers of the House and Senate and vested with police powers while on official duty.

They would be required to have a handgun permit and “must demonstrate annually firearm safety and marksmanship proficiency equivalent to … that members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol are required to demonstrate,” according to the bill.

As to why:

Finney said the legislation is needed because of recent shootings in schools and other public places. Both the Capitol and Legislative Plaza already have metal detectors and armed police who guard entrances and patrol the grounds.

But Finney said armed sergeants-at-arms — who are normally at the entrances of each chamber — could act quickly if there’s trouble within the chambers.

“If you have someone open fire in the Senate chamber, you don’t have 10 minutes to run down and find an officer,” he said.

So, what about the schools? Are we going to arm people there? Or allow the law-abiding to carry there? Just asking. Apparently, our friends at the capitol are afraid after a bunch of people in wheelchairs staged a protest.

Also, seems odd to me to give control of state troopers to the senate and house. You know, separation of powers and all. I thought they operated under the direction of the governor.