Here’s the presser:

A United States citizen who now lives in Great Britain has joined with the country’s leading gun owner rights organization in a federal lawsuit that says nonresident citizens are unfairly being targeted by existing laws that restrict gun ownership to those who live in the U.S.

Attorneys William B. Mateja, a principal in the Dallas and Washington, D.C., offices of Fish & Richardson P.C., and Alan Gura of Alexandria, Va.’s Gura & Possessky PLLC, filed the federal claim today on behalf of London, England, resident Maxwell Hodgkins and the Bellevue, Wash.-based Second Amendment Foundation.

Hodgkins, a 31-year-old real estate broker, is asking for a legal injunction that would prohibit federal officials from enforcing several “vague and ambiguous” gun control statutes. A Dallas native, Hodgkins is an avid gun collector and sportsman who legally owns and stores firearms in the U.S. and holds related permits for weapons possession and concealment.

Mateja previously served in the current Bush Administration as senior counsel to the U.S. Deputy Attorney General. Among other duties, he oversaw the Justice Department’s violent crime efforts, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and President Bush’s Project Safe Neighborhood. Prior to that, he served as lead counsel in the notable Second Amendment case U.S. v. Timothy Joe Emerson.

The statutes in question ban the receipt, sale and purchase of firearms by U.S. citizens who claim legal residency outside the U.S. Expatriates cannot buy guns, and while they can receive guns for “lawful sporting purposes,” they cannot do so for lawful self-defense while visiting the U.S. The suit claims that these laws violate the Second and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Although Hodgkins has not been arrested or prosecuted, his attorneys say he could face federal charges should he attempt to access his guns in the U.S.

“These laws serve no useful purpose,” says Gura. “If Mr. Hodgkins may safely have a gun for target practice or hunting, he can certainly have a gun for other lawful purposes.”

I’ve said it a lot.

Memphis Mayor Herenton (who is not a member of mayors against guns) says:

“The streets of Memphis are very much like the streets of many major cities. Many of them are unsafe, so I urge the citizens to use an abundance of caution.”

Strong words. And here are a few more. “I do not favor vigilante justice. Not everybody should own a gun. But the Constitution does permit people to own handguns for their own protection.” Mayor Herenton has admitted one time that he carried a handgun, during a 1998 downtown rally of the Ku Klux Klan. “I am authorized to carry a handgun,” Herenton says.

And in the city of Greanleaf, Idaho:

After seeing the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, a city councilor in this tiny Idaho town founded by pacifist Quakers came up with a novel idea.

Ordinance 208, passed by the City Council on Tuesday, asks Greenleaf’s 862 residents who do not object on religious or other grounds to keep a gun at home in case they are overrun by refugees from the Gulf Coast.

Note: they asked. They did not require.

Some of the media in Knoxville has lost it. While people in Knox and surrounding counties have become accustomed to the biased, slanted, and sensational reporting that can occur around here, this week a local Television station and an alt weekly newspaper out did themselves. This is wrong on so many levels it takes a little time to lay out. Some of the more idiotic parts, some second amendment issues and common sense, will warrant another post.

A sensational story from WATE Television news and a rush to judgment with a completely erroneous and slanted editorial in this weeks Metro Pulse has brought a new level of shame to Knoxville media, if that is possible.

Here is what happened. WATE asked Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert to demonstrate what happened when 19 year old Kane Stackhouse tried to rob him at gunpoint last Saturday afternoon. What WATE showed on Television shocked many people as it appeared that Commissioner Lambert drew a loaded handgun and pointed it at a WATE cameraman. WATE had nothing in the news report that suggested otherwise.

But that is not what happened.

Even though that is exactly what a scathing editorial from the Metro Pulse conveyed. The unsigned editorial starts off plainly enough stating that Lambert “has shown himself to be a danger to himself and others.”

Why would the editorial staff of the Metro Pulse write that?

Because the news report from WATE completely faked them out that’s why.

Even though Lumpy Lambert had a post on KnoxViews that explained that he had cleared the chamber and removed the magazine from the handgun, a Kel-Tec .380, and that he had carefully explained how to make sure a handgun was unloaded; WATE never showed that on air.

The response in the Metro pulse Editorial? This quote, “But in the midst of the ensuing excitement, Lambert did the unconscionable. He pointed his pistol directly at a TV camera recording his description of the event. A firearms instructor’s take on Lambert’s gesture, done for the dramatic media effect, was that it was the height of irresponsibility for a supposedly trained and permitted firearms user. Pointing a gun at something you don’t intend to fire on is the ultimate no-no.”

It is such unprofessional journalism that it may not meet the standard for libel. One would think a simple phone call would be required to confirm such dramatic writing. It is a shame there is not another comparison to illustrate how sloppy this reporting was.

But there is. On Wednesday Tennessee State Senator Tim Burchett held three juveniles and one adult at gunpoint at his motorcycle warehouse until Knox County deputies took them into custody. It is not reported if any of the four suspects were armed. But according to an error riddled special report on, “Laws for protecting yourself with a gun” by Kristin Farley of WATE, Senator Burchett had no right to draw a handgun unless the one of the four suspects drew one first.

Requests from both myself and Say Uncle to correct the errors in the Kristin Farley piece have gone unanswered. Which is a shame because there is obviously some confusion by not just the media but also private citizens. It sure would be nice to get this cleared up. Confused people can make mistakes.

So at what point does possibly libelous, biased, inaccurate, slanted, and sensational reporting become a problem? I guess that might be academic because it seems we passed that point quite some time ago.

Check it:

Low fare carrier Allegiant Air has added Las Vegas as the new, non-stop destination for passengers at McGhee Tyson Airport.

The first available date to fly to Las Vegas is February 15 with fares of $99 per person one way.

Don’t tell anyone, but it’s actually a debate I care little about and could go either way on. I mean, yeah, women who breastfeed can cover up but people just shouldn’t be so uptight about it. Two wrongs and all of that. Either way, it’s not important to me. I just want to see how many euphemisms for boobs I can sneak into an argument.

Well, it took less than two years for the Democrats to do something stupid. Byrd has chair of the appropriations committee.

Update: OK, there’s enough stupid to go around.

Jay wants to know which one he should get.

It’s now been over one month since I reported that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam is a member of the Joyce Foundation-funded, anti-gun group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This has been mentioned on my site and linked by instapundit, NRA News, and other local blogs; and it has been covered by radio host Steve Gill. But I’ve heard nary a peep out of the local press regarding his membership in a group whose desire is to export New York City type gun controls to other cities (NY controls include licensing, registering, only celebrities and those political connections can get permits to carry weapons, and excessive fees).

Mayor Haslam was the president of Pilot Oil prior to becoming mayor. His family still runs the business. I’ve long bought my gas, snacks and the occasional sixer of brews at Pilot stations since they’re conveniently located. I will no longer do that. I’ll drive the extra mile or two and spend my money at Weigel’s. My weekly $50 fill up will go to them.

I encourage other Tennessee gun owners to do the same. And to tell your gun-owning friends about it as well.

Dear Firefox,

I appreciate that you’re always trying to improve your product. However, every time you release an update, your new and improved version fucks my shit up. Tabbed browsing doesn’t work like it did and you broke all my cool extensions. And the updated extensions don’t work as well. Knock that shit off.

Love,

SayUncle

P.S. I’m not Rediscovering the Web, I’m rediscovering the F6 key.

Think the Democrats Won’t Take Your Guns? Think Again.

Wayne LaPierre (who has fixed the picture issue) notes that:

In Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor Frank Melton is scheduled to go on trial for illegally carrying his concealed firearm inside a church, a school, and a park.

…

Melton was one of the first mayors to sign up with Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, and he followed his meeting at Gracie Mansion with a call to ban all gun shows in Jackson.

I guess that’s enough to keep him in Bloomberg’s good graces, because as of this writing, he’s still on the list of mayors fighting for New York-style gun-control laws… even in Mississippi.

Yeah, what happened?

Mr. Completely made one out of a Taurus.

Top 10 battle rifles.

Rog has been doing a series on Conservative Persons and Accomplishments Appreciation Week. It’s quite funny. Federal spending, Schiavo, and The Internet Gambling Law. I have to confess, I had difficulty getting past the pics of the cheerleaders but once you do, good stuff.

Those whacky conservatives. They get in power and abandon, well, nearly everything they stand for, except the God and gay-cooties-hating stuff. My nominee for a future Conservative Persons and Accomplishments Appreciation Week: Bush’s broken veto pen. It shows up only once to say no to stem cell research funding? Feh. Maybe it will wake up for the next two years.

Over at Knoxviews, Lumpy responds in comments about the gun safety issues:

Hi this is Greg “LUMPY” Lambert I don’t usually post here but I decided to address some of the issues that have come up. The video clip of me drawing the firearm was staged. My weapon was unloaded and the clip was removed. The reporter asked if I could show her what happened using the gun as a prop, I unloaded the firearm and showed her and the camera man how to determine that a gun is unloaded.

Pointing even unloaded firearms at something you don’t intend to shoot in an unsafe practice and should not be done under normal circumstances, however firearms are often used as props. When using a firearm, as a prop normal safety rules don’t apply, in this situation the gun was unloaded and checked immediately before the footage was taped.

If something ongoing were being produced (like a movie or TV show) an air soft (realistic toy) gun would be used or the weapon would have been permanently modified so that it could not chamber a live round. In the case of a short one-time sequence like the footage for the news story often a real weapon (usually the actual weapon used in the events that are being recreated) are used but it is absolutely essential that the weapon be checked and rechecked to keep accidents from happening.

So says everyone. From Fark, some campaign posters:

South Africa, a country still struggling to shed its legacy of discrimination, has taken a huge step toward ending marriage discrimination. The SA Parliament overwhelmingly voted for something akin to full and equal marriage rights. South Africa joins Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and Spain as countries that have equal access to marriage.

The new law offers something something slightly less than equality in that government officials can refuse to marry same-sex couples “on the basis of conscience”. This bigot’s loophole will be challenged in court, and under South Africa’s very progressive constitution, the error will hopefully be remedied quickly.

“We can’t be in the situation where civil officers can decide who they want to marry and who they don’t want to marry,” she said. “They aren’t able to refuse to marry a black person and a white person. This is unconstitutional.”

Congrats to South Africa! Let’s hope they finish the job soon!

In comments here, Countertop says:

Just had a long leisurely lunch today with a former high ranking Clinton Administration official and long time Friend of Bill from Arkansas (who works as an outside consultant for one of my clients). There were less than half a dozen of us sitting at the table at the Capital Grill gaming out possibilities over the next two years for moving legislation and the difficult minefields we have to walk through. Someone brought up the subject of Pelosi keeping her troops in line – and I mentioned the gun control agenda and calls for a renewed AWB. This guy, fell off his seat and said thats the most toxic issue a democrat could touch and as far as he (and presumably the Clintons) were concerned they (specifically including Nancy Pelosi who is a smart smart politiican) are smart enough not to touch that third rail.

He compared it to the stem cell blunder Republicans made in Missouri and thought that they (gun banners) would have to fight even to get face time with Pelosi (much less Harry Reid who could lose his majority to defections over the issue).

To further press his point – Harold Ford Jr. walked by – and he simply said Tester, Webb, and Ford. No one would have imagined their success this election – and if gun control were an issue in any of the races, Reid would be in the minority.

I just report it as I hear it.

Don’t let your guard down, but don’t get too worried

Since the local press is All Lumpy All The Time, it’s no surprise that the inevitable bit about carry permits pops up. That’s a fine and noble cause until you start giving people misinformation that can get them arrested or killed. WATE’s Kristin Farley did just that in this piece. So, annotated with Uncle’s corrections (bear in mind, Uncle is no lawyer):

If you choose to carry a gun for protection, there are some places that are off-limits while you’re armed. Those include buildings where alcohol is sold and served, all courtrooms, school campuses, public parks and playgrounds.

Unless you’re a handgun carry permit holder or are transporting the firearm, all places are off-limits. If you choose to carry a gun for protection, you must first obtain a handgun carry permit. This includes taking a training course, passing a background check, and paying a $150 fee.

As for self-defense laws, the state of Tennessee says you are justified in threatening or using force against someone when you believe your life is in immediate danger from that person.

Actually, your life or the life of another are both justification for the use of force.

If you’re inside your home, you have increased protection under the law. That means, you’re justified in using deadly force, even if the perpetrator isn’t armed.

The perpetrator being armed is irrelevant. What matters is that you’re in fear of great bodily harm to you or others. For example, if a 6 feet, six inch tall 320 pound man is threatening severe bodily harm to a 5 feet, 2 inch 90 pound woman, use of force is justified.

But in the case of the attempted robbery at Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert’s car dealership, increased protection goes away.

No, it doesn’t. A place of business is neither more nor less special than a home.

Legally, Lambert could only use his gun if the suspect had one, too. And in that case, he did.

Err, wrong. If Lambert was in fear of his life or the threat of severe bodily harm, use of force is justified. For example, if the young man had grabbed a baseball bat or was easily capable of overpowering Mr. Lambert physically, use of force is justified.

WATE has done a disservice with this report and it could cost someone dearly. I hope that they correct this error.

Update: One I missed. In comments, Rustmeister notes that the report errs when it says off-limits places include where alcohol is sold. Actually, it’s where alcohol is sold for on-site consumption (i.e., grocery store that sells beer is OK, whereas Hooters is not).

Meanwhile, at WATE’s message board is exactly why a correction is needed:

Kristin Farley’s article about how to legally protect yourself is amazing to me! As a Wisconsin citizen whose right to security and defense is illegally being restricted by our state governor and being endorsed by the local media, it is very refreshing to see that other parts of America live free.

I hope you folks down there appreciate that even your media understands that presonal (sic) protection is a right guarenteed (sic) by the Constitution and not a privilege granted by law.

If a reader is registered there, they may want to let this person know.

Update 2: Heh. I get it wrong too. In comments, Kevin says:

Now, I am not a lawyer, but as a Tennessee permit holder I feel the need to clarify a few things. (Assuming the law hasn’t change in the two years since I took my permit course)

If you’re inside your home, you have increased protection under the law. That means, you’re justified in using deadly force, even if the perpetrator isn’t armed.

The perpetrator being armed is irrelevant. What matters is that you’re in fear of great bodily harm to you or others. For example, if a 6 feet, six inch tall 320 pound man is threatening severe bodily harm to a 5 feet, 2 inch 90 pound woman, use of force is justified.

Actually, if you’re inside your home you are always justified in using deadly force against an intruder. The act of illegally entering a home creates the presumption that you intend to commit serious bodily injured to the occupants.

But in the case of the attempted robbery at Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert’s car dealership, increased protection goes away.

No, it doesn’t. A place of business is neither more nor less special than a home.

No. A business is less special than a home. As above, any illegal entrance into a home creates the legal presumption that you are there to cause serious bodily injury to the occupants, therefore use of deadly force is always justified against intruders. In a place of business there has to be a threat of serious bodily injury before deadly force is justified.

Not meaning to pick a nit with the any of the above, but I think it’s important to get this stuff exactly right.

Uncle says: Indeed it is and corrects his error.

In comments here, Sebastion says of the recent Democrat take over:

I am not optimistic. I’d really like to believe this wasn’t a total disaster, but the party is still run by the loons. Here’s what I think is going to happen:

Bush will accept virtually the entire democratic agenda in exchange for the Democrats agreeing to a compromise in Iraq that is less than the “cut and run” they need to really placate their base.

There will be an attempt, a serious attempt, to pass another assault weapons ban in 2007. Probably as an amendment to a bill the Republicans really need to pass. Whether it does pass or not is another story. The new ban will not have a sunset clause and will include 50 caliber rifles. I think we’ll be lucky to get a ban identical to the old one.

There is no chance at all of passing any pro-gun legislation through Congress for the foreseeable future.

Democrats will block any sufficiently conservative candidates for the courts that would uphold the second amendment.
After the assault weapons ban, expect them to try for something else.

Democrats will begin to lose in areas they’ve gained grounds, but the damage will be done. Don’t forget a Republican congress was unable to repeal the assault weapons ban in 1996. Once it’s in there, it’s not coming out.

I think it’s a disaster, and we’re going to be on the defensive for the foreseeable future. We need to be organized, we need to care, and we need to join the NRA. Whether you like it or not, think they suck or not, they are the organization that makes the politicians pay attention. No one else has their clout in Washington.

Over at the gun blogs, another militia type intentionally got arrested for making machine guns specifically to challenge the law:

This is a very important episode in the war on guns and in the fight for our freedoms. Wayne Fincher is a Lieutenant Commander in the Militia of Washington County, a legally organized militia under the laws of Arkansas. They have manufactured several machine guns from demilled weapons and have petitioned the state of Arkansas for protections guarenteed by both state and federal constitutions.

[…]

This arrest of Lt. Commander Wayne Fincher could be the beginning of the overturning of United States vs. Miller . This group has done everything above board and within the constitution. They have informed the State of Arkansas of all their actions and expected this arrest.

Could be a case to watch. I wonder why it’s always the militia sorts that do this sort of thing. The man who was arrested has a spotless record too. Could be interesting.

Massachusetts has spent considerable time and energy blaming its crime on guns obtained in New Hampshire. Odd how New Hampshire doesn’t have the same crime problem. Anyhoo, New Hampshire fires back noting that:

NH says Mass. putting police in danger

The lax approach Massachusetts takes to entering its violent felony and serious offender warrants into the FBI’s national computerized database endangers New Hampshire police officers who encounter these fugitives on the streets with no way of knowing their background.

Radley has a rundown of some more botched police raids and other police abuse.

That’s pretty fuckin’ funny:

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To head into the army recruiting office so he could fight in Iraq. Oh, wait. I told that wrong. I forgot to say the chicken was retarded.

Late for Dinner asks what’s wrong with this picture. Yes, some gun safety violations. But speaking of Lumpy, Betty Bean notes his impeccable taste in 380s:

The hapless holdup man, whom Lambert said looked to be about 19, had walked up to the car lot around 1 p.m. saying he wanted to buy a car. He had his eye on a 2005 Ford Focus priced at $10,000 and asked for a test drive. When Lambert went out to his own car to retrieve a dealer’s tag, he said something told him to open the console and retrieve his own gun – a Keltec .380 that he has a permit to carry.

I love my Kel-Tec. Actually, Betty, you don’t have a permit to carry a specific gun. Just a permit to carry a gun. Any handgun but a machine gun, if I recall correctly.

That said, second-guessing Lumpy’s situation is likely unfair and the Beanster points out that:

Lumpy got snookered by whoever did that Channel 6 story — he trusted them to be fair and he allowed himself to be talked into re-enacting the attempted hold-up. In return, they ran a still shot that makes him look like a demented freak instead of a victim. Lumpy would be better off if he were a little less trusting, a little less willing to accommodate those who would set him up.

Oooh, Siggy.

The AP:

Adkins said Justice and King likely were killed by the same weapon, a .22-caliber shotgun.

Dear Schree,

The election was last week. I notice that everyone else has removed their campaign signs from around the area where I work. Yours are still there. They’re kind of an eyesore and remind me of the horrible campaign season that seemed to go on for a decade.

Please send someone to remove them.

Thank you,

SayUncle

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership has gone to a blog format. Here’s a post on spinning the elections:

The gun lobby’s spin operation in the wake of its sizable defeats last Tuesday is literally unbelievable. How, for example, can George Will say during the Sunday morning roundtable discussion on the Stephanopoulos show that the NRA was a “winner” when they lost over 82 percent of the 46 called races where their endorsed candidates ran against candidates endorsed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence?

Well, the gun lobby hasn’t said that, to my knowledge. In fact, they’re quite down on it. The anti-gun lobby, of course, is spinning it like crazy even though it’s not great for them either.

I’ve not tried to leave a comment yet but I’d guess they’re heavily moderated. They don’t want any truth getting out.