2007 – Page 125 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Philly Gun Law Suit Goes Ahead

Yep, those are two words.Â Philadelphia city officials are moving ahead with their lawsuit against the Commonwealth for failing to let them pass gun laws:

Asked if he was aware of any Pennsylvania case of a similar nature, Bochetto said, “This would be a case of first impression. If you look at the legal definition of a state-created danger, we meet every standard. . . . There is empirical evidence that is unmistakable to demonstrate this.”

Bochetto said the suit also asks the court to reinterpret the state statute that gives the commonwealth control over gun laws to the detriment of local government.

This is a state created danger? Â I’m pretty sure this is a criminal created danger. Â These people are delusional.Â The courts have already upheld preemption in Ortiz v. Commonwealth.Â He can ask the Court of Common Pleas to reinterpret all he wants, there’s controlling precedent they are bound by, and the answer will be “no”. Â This is just a dog and pony show designed to allow the city politicians to continue to deflect blame for their own failures.

If they were serious about fighting crime in the city, they could start by working to get judges like this off the bench.

1000th Post & A New Look

This is my 1000th post since I started more than six months ago. That either means I’m doing a good job, or I need to shut up, or maybe both! I’m not sure which.

I decided to give the blog a makeover. There are a few reasons for this. For one, I think the old blog look was kind of tough to navigate and read sometimes. For two, the theme was breaking YouTube videos for some people. For three, I was starting to think the old theme was gaudy.

But I am not one to push something on my readers, so if you don’t like the new digs, say something in the comments. I won’t get offended; it’s not really my theme, I just doctored someone else’s. You have a few days to convince me that I should go back to the old theme :) I’ll take few comments as a signal that everyone thinks the new look and format is groovy, or you’re reading me through RSS and could care less. Any suggestions for improvements are welcome, though, I’m an engineer and not a graphic artist, so my ability to implement suggestions may be limited.Â There may be some minor adjustments happening in the next few days as well.

Playing With Themes

I’m playing with some new themes.Â If the blog looks weird for a bit, that’s why.Â I’m growing kind of tired of the current one, and I’m trying to figure out whether or not there’s anything out there that might look better.

Armed America

I want to take a minute to point out a photo book called Armed America. Watch the video below. (Or follow this YouTube link)

I’ve been a long time member of the LiveJournal guns community, and I’ve been following this project since the beginning, and there are one or two of my LJ friends in the album. Kyle is a fantastic photographer, and I’d highly recommend getting the album.

Options for DC Residents

There are no gun shops within The District at all.Â So what options do DC residents have if Parker stands.Â According to Dave Hardy:

Back 20 years ago, I was told there was a sporting goods store in DC that had an FFL. I doubt you could get one today. A expensive solution might be to buy antique arms, those made before Jan. 1 1899, which are not “firearms” under the Gun Control Act and thus can be sold interstate. Rifles would be easiest to find (Krags, 1893 Mausers, etc.) but at greater expense you could probably get, oh, Colt Single Action Armies, etc..

I thought you could buy long guns out of state, as long as the laws of the resident and dealer’s states were complied with?Â I doubt you’ll find an FFL willing to do it, but I think in theory it could be done.

So here’s a question: Does DC’s ban get severed from the rest of their gun laws?Â Or do all of DC’s gun laws get removed? Â In other word, could I carry a loaded pistol within The District?

Illinois High Cap Ban At Death’s Door

There doesn’t appear to be any support in the Illinois House for a high capacity magazine ban:

In the midst of a lengthy impasse over the state budget, Blagojevich has called on lawmakers to ban the sale, purchase and possession of gun clips that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

But observers on both sides of the divisive issue say there are simply not enough votes to get the measure passed.

Of the 60 votes needed for approval, gun control advocates and gun rights groups agree there are only about 50 solid â€œyesâ€ votes. Not even the billâ€™s sponsor thinks it has enough support.

I continue to be impressed by the effectiveness of the Illinois State Rifle Association. Working in what can only be regarded as a state with demographics that are very hostile to gun rights, they’ve managed to keep any serious gun control proposals at bay for years. National NRA can only do so much without effective state affiliates, and gun owners in Illinois certainly can claim to have one.Â Good show!

DC’s Decision Within a Week

According to Dave Hardy, DC will have it’s decision on whether to appeal Parker vs. DC within a week. If I were a betting man, I’d wager they’ll appeal. Reason? When it comes down to it, Fenty and the DC political establishment can’t afford to be seen as backing down. Fenty has to do what he thinks is best for his city and his constituents, and despite any pressure he might be getting from outside gun control groups, political expedience will demand he appeal.

It may not be the smart thing for the gun control movement to do strategically, and surely Fenty has been under a lot of pressure not to move forward, or to make small changes to DC’s law and fight this battle with a different case on better terms. But he also has to consider that he is not the President of the Brady Campaign, he’s Mayor of Washington DC, and he will have do what he thinks is right for his city, no matter how delusional he may actually be about the effectiveness of the ban.

Of course, I could be totally wrong and he won’t appeal. Time will tell.

Pennsylvanians Terrorized by Wrecking Ball

For some reason I find this amusing, even though I shouldn’t because people were injured:

I would have to caption that photo “Gulliver Gets a Strike”.Â But seriously folks, there’s nothing funny about wrecking balls gone awry.Â Meadville is in the Northwestern part of Pennsylvania, between Pittsburgh and Erie.

ATF OKs Bits of String

You no longer have to worry about spending time in the federal klink for having shoelaces and guns, at least, until they change their mind again.

The Heating Seeking .50 BMG

It slices, it dices, it can julienne your carrots from 50 miles away, and it’s heat seeking too. Not only that, it can cook a deer with a single shot! Mention Patricia Eddington, and we’ll knock 20% off list price!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRQqieimwLQ[/youtube]

Of course, API rounds are already illegal in New York and New Jersey, and regulated quite strictly at the federal level, but don’t except Assemblywoman Eddington to tell you that.

Here’s the QuickTime for people who can’t view the YouTube.

It amazes me that the media just repeats this nonsense without bothering to do the least bit of fact checking.Â People make fun of Arlen Spector for coming up with his magic bullet theory, but he’s got nothing on the opponents of the .50 BMG.