The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
Not often that I run out of stories for the day before 2:00, but the well is dry. I don’t even have any tabs left to clear, except all the technical stuff I’ve been working on for the job that actually pays the bills, and a few things I’ve been sitting on that could turn into posts, but that would take a bit more time to write than I have time to take right now.
In the mean time, the gun blogosphere loves itself a good OC debate, so go see these posts by Caleb and Robb.
Stories in Massachusetts, Chicago (in schools, no less), and New Jersey. I don’t know how this could happen, since all three of those states ban them. Also, go take a look at the photo on the Massachusetts story. That looks like a slidefire stock to me, on one of the seized guns. Watch that become the next “loophole.”
The AP is carrying a story on it, along with the Bar Association journal. I understand from folks on the ground in Illinois that gun control groups in the Land of Lincoln are having a cow over this. The national groups have already classified this as an affront to democracy (which begs the question as to whether they believe grand juries are likewise an affront to democracy). I think it’s really important to highlight this quote from the press release, because it tells you exactly what the gun control crowd stands for:
Our message is this: we will no longer use the power and authority of our office to criminalize and punish decent, otherwise law-abiding citizens who choose to exercise the rights granted to them by the Second Amendment of the United States’ Constitution to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and their families.
This is what they are freaking out about. It’s not criminals possessing guns, it’s not drug dealers possessing guns — they are freaking out because a prosecutor has declared he’s not going to try to put otherwise law-abiding, honest people in prison.
More evidence that’s just a sham. Not that we really need more evidence that the whole “gun violence” and “peace” facade is a fraud designed to cover the fact that they just hate guns and the Second Amendment, but here you go anyway. Looks like yet another case of pacifist-agressive.
The University of Colorado Chancellor is putting the kibosh on a movement of professors to refuse to teach classes if students are carrying. Glenn Reynolds, “I’m glad to see someone standing up to the hate. When will these professors learn that you don’t have to fear people just because they’re different?” Unfortunately, we still have a lot of folks stoking the culture of hate against gun owners who exercise and defend their rights.
In fact, since I was appointed State’s Attorney last December, I have been quietly changing our policies to bring them in accordance with the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Now I am announcing publicly that the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office will no longer enforce those parts of the following Illinois statutes relating to firearms: Firearm Owners Identification Card Act (430 ILCS 65), Unlawful Use of Weapons (720 ILCS 5/24-1), Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapons (720 ILCS 5/24-1.6) and provisions of any other statutes that appear to be in contravention of the Heller and McDonalddecisions.
The questions we will seek to answer in determining whether or not to file charges are:
1) What appears to be the reason or purpose for the person’s possession of carrying a firearm?
2) Was the firearm actually displayed, or used, for an improper purpose or in a reckless manner?
3) Was the person under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or have illegal drugs on his or her person or in their vehicle?
4) If the person is not an Illinois citizen, was the weapon possessed or carried in accordance with the laws of the State of his or her residency?
5) Is the person a member of or affiliated with any gang known to engage in illegal activities?
6) Has the person been convicted of a felony offense? If so, how long ago and for what offense(s)?Other questions may arise as we continue to improve our policy.
I wish we had more public officials that took their oaths seriously. It should be noted that our opponents are attempting to bully and intimidate this State Attorney into throwing more honest gun owners in jail where obviously the gun control crowd believes they belong. It would be wise for our side to call and thank the SA for this stance. Here’s the contact info:
Joe Huffman points to an interesting tech project, called the WikiWeapon:
Now, a group called Defense Distributed, a grassroots research and development collective whose volunteer engineers and designers span Arkansas and Texas, are utilizing 3D printing for something they say is unprecedented. Defense Distributed is entering phase two of their development of a digital file to print a plastic civilian defense system, the WikiWeapon. “The WikiWeapon will be capable of firing one .22 round. It is both functional and symbolicâ€.
This breakthrough begs the question, has gun control obsolesced? Defense Distributed will not be producing any physical objects or digital files for sale. The group intends to freely share the files they create for online sharing once fully developed and tested. “When we’re done, seed and hack this file—improve it if you can†they added.
It’s a nifty idea, but there some things to consider. You can see their requirements here. You’ll need a good spring and metal firing pin to whack rim. Im skeptical a solenoid has the necessary punch. I think they are underestimating how much impact force it takes to ignite a rimfire round reliably. The barrel also has to be metal. The rest of the gun can certainly can be made from plastic, and metal parts that would accomplish the necessary tasks shouldn’t be hard to find. There are 3D printers, beyond the reach of hobbyists for now, that can lay down metal, but it’s not of the quality that it would contain even a .22 LR round safely. A lot of people make the assumption that the .22 LR is a low pressure round. It’s not. The .22LR will generate 24,000 PSI of pressure. In comparison, the .45ACP only generates 21,000, and a .38 Special 17,000. Granted, the overall pressure the .22 needs to contain is less because of the lower area, but that’s still enough to turn a 100% plastic gun into a 100% plastic grenade, so that’s something these folks need to consider in their design. The barrel has to be metal.
Jim Geraghty takes a look at the Senate Races, now that the stupid party has just handed McCaskill’s seat back to her on a silver platter. There’s two things I’m looking for in the Senate. One is to avoid confirmation fights, so that we can increase the number of votes for the Second Amendment. Two is to have enough margin to repeal Obamacare. The former is easier than the latter, though some Democratic senators might be able to have their arms twisted to vote for cloture in the latter case if they lose big again in 2012.
Dave Hardy has some interesting developments, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one:
It says he’s taking annual leave from the agency (apparently planning to retire once that runs out). This is quite unusual. You can always take your annual leave, but taking another job while on it is another question.
Man, I bet most of us wish our jobs had vacations policies this generous.
Apparently Brady’s solution to the problem of self-defense is for us all to become Kung-Fu masters. I don’t think HTH training is a bad idea, but what if you’re facing down someone with a weapon? What if you’re facing multiple attackers? No problem, I guess: