Pipe Bombs Not Protected by Second Amendment

Eugene Volokh has a summary of the ruling from the 11th circuit.  Eugene Volokh speaks of the entertainment value also, but a pipe bomb is a destructive device.  You can have plenty of fun with things that go boom without making a destructive device.  Just ask Joe.  Of course, this is ignoring the “defense from tyrannical government” argument, which I think is important, but I think the government should have power to regulate explosive ordnance, or other items that have little use for self-defense, and pose an inherent risk to the community, no matter how responsible a person is.

Taming the Beast

It’s pretty clear by now that the federal government is completely out of control.  I’m in agreement with Yoseminite Sam about the new Con & Trade scheme recently passed by the House:

To say that I am angry is an understatement. One of the more outrageous parts of this outrageous bill is a requirement for a home energy audit upon selling a home. If your home fails this audit then the seller would have to pay to fix the problems outlined in the audit. So if you have an older home(like me) that has older appliances(like me), you will have to pay thousands of dollars to get new appliances, air conditioners or water heaters even if those appliances are in perfect working order. So much for the reduce, reuse, recycle encomium that the environmentalists keep prating on about. The landfills will be full of these still functioning appliances.

I’m probably a little less angry at the Amerian people though, because polls show that Obama’s policies are unpopular.  I don’t think it’ll be very long until that causes his approval ratings to take a hit.  I think that most people really had no idea what they were getting with Obama, as much as many of us tried to warn them.

But it’s not just Obama.  It’s pretty clear the federal bureaucracy is completely out of control as well.  Just yesterday, for instance, comes this story about the need to further regulate Tylenol.  And this is just the latest in a long line of insults.  It’s like, with the cat out of the White House, the mice now feel like they have free reign over the place.

What’s even more depressing is I don’t see the Republicans in a position to be able to capitalize on the unpopularity of Obama’s policies.  I don’t think we’re going to see a resurgent 1994 “Contract with America.”   Besides, we’ve been through the Republican Revolution once already, and I don’t know if liberty could afford another.

The only way I think we’re going to fix things is to build a movement to amend the Constitution.  If Republicans are smart, I would capitolize on this by calling for a Constitutional amendment.  First things first, we need a balanced budget amendment.  Second I think Republicans really ought to consider pushing Randy Barnett’s Federalism Amendment.  I think it needs some work to make it feasible, but if we can get a handful of states to pass laws opting out of the federal gun control regime, we ought to be able to get them to pass an amendment that limits the power of the national government.

The best part is, we don’t even need the Federal Government to do it.  We’ve been frightened of the idea of a Constitutional Convention, because it would likely be hijacked by the left, but why do we fear that?  Red states, even in the era of Obama, still greatly outnumber blue states.  I don’t think there’s much danger the country is going to adopt a new socialist constitution.

Given the nature of political life in this country, I don’t think there’s going to be any way to get the federal government under control unless we tie it down through constitutional amendment.  The progressives managed to greatly expeand the power of government through this method in the early part of the 20th century.  Why couldn’t we?

It’ll Be the Wild West

It’s always interesting to see how foreign media covers the gun debate in this country.  I can’t say it looks any different than what you’d find from, say, the New York Times:

Now America’s powerful gun lobby is pushing for the introduction of “commonsense” laws in Arizona that would allow people to walk into bars with guns — just as they did in the old days. Tennessee and Georgia have approved the measure in the past year and a similar law is now being considered by Arizona’s state legislature.

Pennsylvania is already the “wild west” then, and unlike Arizona, we have no restrictions against drinking while carrying.  Though, I think being caught intoxicated in public while carrying would probably be grounds for the sheriff to revoke your LTC.  Either way, I don’t see why this is always such a big deal.  It’s not like gunfights breaking out in bars is a common occurrence here, and we have a lot more LTC holders than any other state in the nation.

Evan Nappen on New Jersey One-Gun-A-Month Bill

Evan Nappen is the foremost authority on New Jersey gun laws, which is no small feat, given how complicated they are.  He takes a look at the new one-gun-a-month bill passed by the House and Senate and concludes it has a number of drafting problems, including restricting dealers to getting one gun a month from distributors, allowing gun owners who want to dispose of a firearm collection only transfer one-gun-a-month to a dealer, and even fails to make certain exception for armed forces.  Evan says the law is so bad, it will virtually end retail handgun sales in New Jersey.  Maybe that was the point.

A Friendly Reminder

I’ve seen this mistake made many times. Since most of you guys don’t follow me on Twitter, I thought I would hijack Sebastian’s blog while he’s driving to work to “re-Tweet” this reminder to a wider audience.

RT @APStylebook: Capitalize references to the U.S. Constitution with or without the U.S. modifier: The president said he supports the Constitution.

Kansas Recognizes Non-Resident Permits

From NRA:

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six today concluded that the State of Kansas will now recognize ‘non-resident’ right-to-carry permits issued by any of the 22 states already recognized.

“NRA has maintained for years that language in the Kansas statute indicates that ‘non-resident’ right-to-carry permits should be recognized,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “This decision is a victory for gun owners as it expands right-to-carry laws and provides permit holders additional freedoms in Kansas to protect themselves and their families.”

I guess this helps make up for losing Nevada.

HSUS Poaching Bill Stalled in Pennsylvania House

Remember that bill Wayne Pacelle was complaining NRA was opposing?  Well, it stalled in the house and is headed back to committee.  I think that’s a good outcome, because there are things in the bill that I don’t think we ought to have any trouble with, but some things really need to change.  I’m rather mystified that the following groups are joining forces with HSUS on this:

The Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs was joined in support of the bill by the Quality Deer Management Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Ruffed Grouse, Pennsylvania Forest Coalition, Pennsylvania Crossbow Association and the Pennsylvania Deer Association.

Support also came from P.E.T.A. and the Humane Society, both anti-hunting groups.

Considerable fuss was made when the National Rifle Association questioned the bill, even though the NRA supported the concept. It became almost a frenzy as people and groups joined in condemning the N.R.A. over their mere concern.

There’s just no way that poaching should be in the same league as robbing a bank.  Sorry, no.  It’s a misdemeanor at most.  The District Attorney’s association and the gun rights groups in this state were right to raise concerns.  If Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, which I am a member of, is going to keep joining forces with Wayne Pacelle and PETA, I will not renew my membership with them and will cease supporting the organization.  I fear they are already suffering for Melody Zullinger’s absence.