2009 – Page 85 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Small Victory With ATF

After seeing our posts on the pin and weld issue that indicated that maybe ATF would no longer accept pinned and welded barrel extensions contributing to barrel length for NFA purposes, the NRA apparently went to ATF to get the problem corrected.Â One of my contacts at ILA just informed me that ATF has issued a corrected handbook, which states on the bottom of page 6:

The ATF procedure for measuring barrel length is to measure from the closed bolt (or breech-face) to the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device. Permanent methods of attachment include full-fusion gas or electric steel-seam welding, high-temperature (1100Â°F) silver soldering, or blind pinning with the pin head welded over. Barrels are measured by inserting a dowel rod into the barrel until the rod stops against the bolt or breech-face. The rod is then marked at the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device, withdrawn from the barrel, and measured.

So those of you with ARs that have 14.5 inch barrels with a 1.5 inch brake or flash suppressor pinned and welded on no longer have to worry they might be felons.Â Thanks to NRA for clearing this issue up.

Good Luck, But I’m Not Optimistic

Looks like MSSA and SAF are getting ready to go to court over the Montana Firearms Freedom Act:

â€œIf a gun is made in Montana and stays in Montana, it isnâ€™t engaging in interstate commerce,â€ said Alan Gottlieb, of the Second Amendment Foundation. â€œThe federal government really should butt out.â€

At issue is the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, which passed the 2009 Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. That law states that guns, ammunition and certain gun parts manufactured and used in Montana are not subject to federal gun laws.

No doubt they will try to distinguish their case from Raich, but I doubt the courts will bite.Â There was a successful case involving a home made machine gun, US v. Stewart, that had prevailed in the 9th circuit, which Montana resides in.Â The Supreme Court vacated the ruling and remanded it for reconsideration in light of Raich.Â That to me speaks strongly that the Supreme Court views Raich as applying to unregistered machine guns just as readily as state-approved medical marijuana.

As much as I wish this really had legs, it looks to me more like SAF and MSSA boosting their pro-gun bonafides, than a serious legal challenge.

Strict Liability to Be Put into Tax Code

Instapundit is reporting the Health Care bill has a provision buried in it that will make taxpayers strictly liable for mistakes, meaning you’ll be fined for them.Â I’m wondering if this will apply to Obama’s cabinet too?

Insomnia Bleg

Been having some difficulty with sleep for the past week or so.Â Not so much staying up until all hours of the night kind of thing, but frequent waking, and not feeling like I’m getting deep, quality sleep.Â I usually end up waking at about 5AM and not being able to get back to sleep in any productive way (normal wake-up time is 7:30-8 for me, typical workday goes from 9-9:30 to around 7 or so, sometimes later).

Not the first time I’ve had trouble sleeping, but as best as I remember, it always just seemed to go away after a while.Â Â Â The trouble with getting stressed about sleeping is it actually makes it harder to sleep, so it’s a bit of a vicious feedback loop.Â Anyone out there have any advice on how to overcome insomnia without resorting to drugs and drinking?Â I generally find benadryl or alcohol might help me get to sleep, but really just end up making things worse overall.Â The real solution is probably to reduce stress in my life, but it’s kind of hard with job uncertainty, and the Hope and Change job market weighing heavily on my mind.

Beyond Thunderdome

Marko has a really good post on what those who propose civilians be disarmed are really proposing.Â Along the lines of Marko’s oft-plagarized tome Why The Gun is Civilization, which is variously attributed to retired majors, small children, squirrels, and squirrely gun training center owners all around the country.

Wiley Responds to Frommer Controversy

Statement here from the publisher of Frommer’s guides, on the blog post we spoke about before.Â Summary seems to be “He has a right to his opinion, it’s not necessary ours, now go away you crazy gun nuts.Â And oh, by the way, Love ya Arizona!”Â Â I agree the guy has a right to his own opinion.Â I just thought it was a very ignorant opinion, that revealed a great naivety about life in the rest of the country, which is pretty incredible from a guy who is known for travel guides.

It’s Freedom F-R-E-E-D-O-M Group!

SayUncle says the naughty word.Â It’s not Cerberus looking to buy Advanced Armaments, it’s the Freedom Group.Â We don’t want to jeapardize any more NRA Board positions by using the word that is not to be spoken!

Go-Pants

Defensive Handgun Blog talks about some pants Robb actually might want to wear:

What are Go-Pants? Somewhere in between not being armed and strapping on a tactical vest and an AR-15 to survive the zombiepocalypse is a useful set of tools to deal with the problems that present themselves on a more regular basis.

Interesting concept.Â Personally, I wouldn’t answer to the door for someone I wasn’t expecting or didn’t know if I didn’t already have a pistol in arms reach.Â I don’t have a set of Go-Pants.Â If I’m expecting trouble, I have a go rifle.

Success Against the Mayors! (Sorta)

As we continue to study and find weakness with the Pennsylvania coalition of Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, I discovered that we’ve already reduced his numbers! Well, we can’t exactly claim credit for these since they happened during the primary election season, but that’s okay.

Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed was defeated in the Democratic primary election, though he may weigh a write-in campaign for the general. There is no indication that his replacement Linda Thompson will support the rights of sportsmen and gun owners, but at least one mayor is out of the coalition for now.

Weissport Mayor Tina Hagenbuch was defeated in the Democratic primary election by Jonathan Glenn Trout. Again, there’s no indication that he will respect the rights of Pennsylvania’s gun owners and hunters, but we remain more hopeful given the generally pro-gun region.

In addition, information available from election resources indicates two mayors have opted not to run for re-election. Mayor Fred C. Moyer Jr. of Freeburg doesn’t appear to be on the ballot following the primary election. In fact, it would seem that no candidates ran with the major parties in Freeburg, but there were 20 write-in votes on the GOP primary ballot and 3 write-in votes on the Democratic primary ballot. (Names were not available, so I don’t know if these are all for the same candidate or not.) Think about that – a mayor of a town based on 20 votes. Crazy!

Based on the records found online, it would also appear as though Pine Grove, PA’s Mayor Morris S. Williams opted not to run again. We don’t know what positions the other candidates hold, but here’s hoping they don’t join Bloomberg’s anti-gun crusade.

Look for more updates on this issue. Needless to say, the fact that I’ve done such detailed research should give a clue that my research was not simply for blog post purposes. We’re not going to allow Bloomberg to keep such a stranglehold on Pennsylvania politicians.

Caught HSUS Astroturfing

The Humane Society of the United States, not to be confused with your local animal shelter, is apparently not above astroturfing.Â In my previous thread on the ban on preserve hunting they are pushing in North Dakota, I got engaged in a conversation with a person claiming to be a hunter in the comments, until I noticed his what his IP address resolved to on ARIN.Â Â Be careful out there folks.Â These people are slick.Â The person you’re speaking with claiming to be a hunter may very well be an animal rights activist trying to divide the community.