November 2009 – Page 18 – Shall Not Be Questioned

On Establishments That Post

Kevin got a reply back from the establishment that prohibited carry in Arizona, which basically revealed the proprietor isn’t the biggest fan of ordinary citizens carrying guns around. That’s making me wonder if there might be a technique that would be more effective for gun owners to try. I live six miles outside of a major city who’s culture and population are not too friendly to the idea either, but I’ve only ever into one place that’s got a sign. I think the reason establishments aren’t quick to post signs is twofold, one is that most of the guns walking around this area are out of sight, meaning businesses and proprietors aren’t really all that aware people are walking around with guns. Two is that they don’t want to risk the signal that their establishment is that kind of place. It’s to the latter that this idea is geared. Let me give you a hypothetical conversation or e-mail:

You: I notice the no guns sign outside. What kind of place is this? Do I have to be worried this is the kind of establishment people want to bring guns to?

Them: Oh no, it’s perfectly fine. There was a chance in state law, and we have to put that there to keep people with guns out.

You: It makes me uncomfortable that you think you have to put a sign up like that. What does it say about the kind of place? They don’t have a sign up at <pick your own competitor here>, maybe that’s a safer place.

Now they will likely try to explain it away, but they will wonder how many customers think the same thing and don’t say anything. Maybe I’m totally nuts here, but I’m suggesting that based on the fact that someone putting up a sign likely isn’t really likely to budge on the issue in terms of philosophy, unless a lot of gun owners complain. Probably not enough will to make a difference.

But if you can make the manager fear that the no guns sign is making customers wonder if their business is kind of a rough place, or that the sign is reflecting poorly on their business, they might rethink it. Obviously that’s not a prescription for every circumstance, but I have to wonder if that could work on some proprietors who aren’t going to be persuaded by pro-gun arguments.

Don’t Forget Your NRA Endorsed Candidates in PA

Superior Court Judge:

Sallie Mundy
Judy Olson
Temp Smith (Do you really want a name like “Temp” in politics?)

Commonwealth Court:

If you know nothing else about them, and let’s face it, you probably don’t, you at least know that they are endorsed by the NRA.

Starting Already

Allegations of voter fraud in the New Jersey race:

At least four voters have approached the Feliz campaign to complain that an absentee ballot was sent to them without their permission or cast for them without their understanding the documents they were signing. I spoke with Uremia Rojas who reports that “a man with a clipboard knocked on my door and had me sign something so I could vote by mail. I was skeptical but signed and got a ballot. I never really wanted one.” Says Mr. Negron: “We believe this to be underhanded and a possibly illegal strategy by the Democratic Party to undermine the civil rights of the residents of Camden.”

There are additional reports from Camden that Hispanic voters have been misled into voting absentee ballots. So-called bearers who are allowed to collect and carry absentee ballots are said to have encouraged voters to fill out applications for absentee ballots. A few days later, the bearers reportedly return with the actual ballots, which they offer “assistance” in filling out.

I Â know you’ll be shocked, shocked to hear this, but ACORN is apparently involved.

After repeated election-related scandals, Acorn has become toxic for many candidates who once relied on the group. But Acorn’s longtime allies, the Service Employee International Union and New York’s Working Families Party, have both moved into New Jersey

It’s crap like this that made the upper middle class peoples of the Philadelphia suburbs turn away from the Democratic Party and remain Republicans. Perhaps one of the aspects of Obama’s legacy will be to destroy the groundwork laid by Bill Clinton and have a lot of suburban voters go back to their roots.

Should Judges be Elected?

Capitol Ideas asks an important question that I don’t think gets asked often enough:

Being an accredited member of the Fourth Estate gives us a bit more insight into judicial candidates than most. But we still can’t help but feel like we’re holding our breath a bit when we enter the voting booth.

And if we feel this way, we have to imagine that many Pennsylvanians feel equally bewildered. And this, of course, leads us to wonder (particularly after the pugilistic state Supreme Court campaign we’ve just witnessed) whether electing judges is such a good idea.

I’ve longed complained that voters really do not have enough information to make informed judgements about judges. I follow this stuff pretty closely, and even I am pulling the lever based on a few criteria I might be able to pick up here and there. I generally will avoid voting in elections where I am just horribly ignorant, like school board elections, which I leave for people with kids (as long as I’m not pissed off about something).

But I also do think that judges who work at a more local level should be accountable to the public they serve. If I got to unilaterally change the system, I’d probably keep district judges elected, but appellate judges should be appointed, with the advise and consent of the PA Senate, just like the feds do it. When it comes to the matter of administering the law, I have little problem with elected judges, but those who get to decide what the law is ought to be a bit more insulated from the political process.

The other big question is whether to allow the people to recall an appellate judge. The judge isn’t really running in an election, per se, so much as asking voters at some determined interval whether they think the judge should be retained. I would probably not have much objection to this, but it gives me pause to think that it might make appellate judges wary of making correct, but politically unpopular decisions. I would probably want to see that subject to a super majority requirement for recalling an appellate judge.

Straw Buyer Problem

The Philadelphia Daily News actually has a reasonably well balanced article on the subject, and it highlights one of the problems dealers have with straw buyers:

“People asking for Glocks, because they hear about them in rapper songs,” said O’Brien, who has worked in the gun industry for 12 years. “I try to steer them back to models more suited for first-time buyers, but they say: ‘No, I want a Glock.’ And they don’t know anything about Glocks or guns at all.”

But red flags trump profit.

“If I don’t feel right about a sale, I won’t sell it,” O’Brien said. “Because I’m white, bald and tattooed, they think I’m racist when I refuse a sale.”

And that, folks, is why a lot of dealers will go ahead with the sale even if they don’t feel comfortable with it. No one wants to get accused of being a racist. On top of that, refusing to serve people based on race is illegal. Yet the crime statistics from Philadelphia show that the violent crime in Philadelphia is mostly young black males with other young black males as the victims. Even if your criteria are completely objective, statistics are likely going to mean if you’re selling guns in Philadelphia, a lot of the customers you turn away for attempting straw buys are going to be African-American. A dealer ought to be condemned if he’s turning people away based on race, but as long as they are using objective criteria to identify a potential straw purchase, he or she ought not have anything to fear.

On that count, It looks to me like O’Brien is doing a bang up job with Delaware Valley Sports Center, and is objective about how he’s picking out straw purchasers. Dealers should realize as long as they are following objective criteria for identifying straw purchasers, there’s nothing wrong with denying a sale. If every dealer was as careful as he was, the Brady Campaign would have a lot less ammunition to use against us.

More Local Governments Turning to Hunters

Looks like Solebury, not far from me, is also opening up to using hunting as a method of reducing deer population instead of the “sharpshooters” typically employed for such a task. Not only is using hunters cheaper, but safer too. Most of the sharpshooting companies hire people that are neither sharp, nor shooters.

This is the culmination of the work of the archers at my club, who put in a lot of time and effort to convince Lower Makefield Township to open up to the idea of thinning out the deer population using bow hunters. So far the township has been very pleased with the hunt. I think more local communities will adopt this model. It’s even getting traction over in New Jersey. It’s a good thing for hunting, since one of the chief causes of its decline is lack of places to hunt.

No Wonder they Toll the Bridge Going Out

Apparently that results in about 300,000 more people paying the toll over six years. You might have guessed I’m speaking about the number of people who have left.

Terror Watch List

Sixteen hundred names a day are added to the list, and no one has any idea how they end up on there or who they are. Yet MAIG, Brady, and other gun control groups, want to use this list to deny people their constitutional rights.

Fail?

Jacob points out that the Brady Campaign is really stretching it to say NRA has shown its political weakness in NY-23. Bitter was also saying Creigh Deeds was down in Roanoke trying to talk up his NRA bonafides like he was the one carrying the endorsement. Now when NRA candidates in Virginia win in a landslide, Brady will no doubt claim it’s because of other issues. They would be right. But elections are often won on the margins, and research shows we’re quite a margin.

One Fool or Another

It’s that time again, folks. Election Day. I would especially like to remind my New Jersey readers to get out to vote. It’s important Corzine doesn’t win, both for the gun issue, and for greater struggles against bigger and more intrusive government. The eyes of the country will be on New Jersey this evening. Well, at least those who aren’t watching the World Series.

For those in Virginia, Bob McDonnell won’t win if people don’t turn out to actually vote for the guy. Despite my hopes that Deeds was just running to the left for the primary, he’s stuck by his gun show loophole position, and needs to be sent packing. Also vote Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General.

If we get Hoffman in NY-23, send Christie to Trenton, and elect Bob McDonnell governor, with significant Dem losses across the board, it will put the fear of God into the blue dogs, and will make the passage of Pelosi and Obama’s agenda much more difficult.