2014 – Page 65 – Shall Not Be Questioned

The Volokh Experiment with WaPo More Pleasing Than I Thought

I’m rather enjoying reading the comments to Professor Johnson’s guest blogs over at The Volokh’s new home, which is warming me up to their experiment with the Washington Post. Here are his posts:

Some of my favorite comments:

“Most black people that I know are pro gun control, but I would imagine that we have black gun nuts in this country. The overwhelming majority of gun nuts are white. If we banned guns completely or restricted them to single shot long guns only, some black gun nuts would not like it, but I think that the overwhelming majority of blacks would be gracious, and very supportive of such an effort.”

You can almost hear the neural circuit breakers tripping on that one.

“The stories recounted here are part of the reason I perceive (1) a constitutional right to possess a reasonable firearm for self-defense in the home and (2) the merit of careful regulation of firearms.”

Followed by a bunch of people challenging the commenter to define “reasonable firearm,” and who gets to decide.

“Although I tend to favor more control of firearms than most folks here, I must say that I have no objection to any law-abiding, mentally-competent person, black or white, owning anything in the Winchester catalog.”

Time for Winchester to make an AR-15? The lever action was the assault weapon of its age. It even holds more than ten rounds. It’s not certain that all of the folks aren’t previous readers, but it’s good for the WaPo audience to be exposed to these ideas, and in a context that totally defies their prejudices and stereotypes about the topic. We don’t have enough of that in our current public discourse.

What Happened to Colin Goddard?

Joe Huffman asks the question:Â what happened to Colin Goddard, The darling of the Brady Campaign? Â Good question. Taking a look myself, I notice his dad has been in the news more than he has. I think the biggest question is what happened to the Brady Campaign? It’s pretty obvious that there was some major turmoil over there, with several key long time people no longer working for the organization. While Colin still says he’s working for Brady, we don’t really know what happened, exactly, in that shake-up. I’ve been singularly unimpressed with Brady’s new leadership, even looking at it objectively.

Post Newtown, the face of gun control became Mayor Bloomberg and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and Shannon Watts, of Moms Demand Action. The Bradys were second fiddle, which is representative of the fact that we know from the MAIG emails that they were attempting to snatch the limelight from BloombergÂ on celebrity PSAs. I’d actually argue that Brady was smart for attempting to use one of its core strengths (celebrity relations) to snatch the narrative back from MAIG, but it seems clear someone decided they needed to be a junior partner in all this. So I don’t think it’s clear whether Colin was a victim of the massive shake-up at the Brady organization, or whether he’s just not on the media speed dial anymore when they are looking for a quote.

I suspect that Colin, much like the organization he aligned himself with, is yesterday’s news. Why would they want a 20-something guy man whose tragedy is now seven years in the past to be the face of this issue when they have dead elementary school children and their grieving families to use? Why call Colin or Dan when one of the Demanding Moms can give you a juicier quote? Even Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has had better game lately, if you go by press attention.

It’s hard for me to see how the Brady organization survives long term, especially given that Bloomberg is throwing his money and organization behind Shannon Watts. It’ll be very interesting to see their form 990s in a couple of years, so see what their finances are doing. I have no doubt that someone will probably step up to keep some skeleton of Brady afloat, lest the news cycle begin to speak about the death of gun control, but it will be an organization severely diminished in stature and effectiveness from its glory days in the 1990s as Handgun Control, Inc.

Destruction of History

The British demonstrate what gun control is meant to do: turning ordinarily law-abiding people who are no threat to anyone into dangerous felons.

A Conservative former mayor and veteran army reservist has been dramatically arrested in an early-morning police raid and charged with owning a live 70-year-old Nazi wartime gun.

Officers with search dogs swooped on the home of Councillor Jonathan Farmer, 56, of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and seized a German Walther PPK pistol dating back to the Second World War.

Police said they were acting on a tip-off and had a warrant to search his home for firearms. He will appear in court next Monday and could face a five-year jail sentence if found guilty.

I can’t for a minute imaging this is the only bring back pistol hiding out in some drawer or attic in the UK. If my grandfather had brought a pistol back from the war, there’s no law in the world that would make me part with it. I’d gladly risk jail time to preserve not only that piece of family history, but of the country’s history. But this is where the madness of the other side leads.

Thursday News Links

Happy Thursday, almost Friday. Where did the week go? The news cycle on guns is pretty slow this week, but here’s some news:

The depressing thing about this, is that these people vote.

How the NSA bulk data seizure program is like gun registration.

Private Citizens stop 16% of mass shootings.

How to make and reload wax bullets. I think I owe Miguel the hat tip for this one, but not sure.

A reversal of fortune for gun grabbers. Well, this is why they switched to politically incorrect long guns. At one time it was a small base of shooters, so it made an easier target.

Armed citizenry? Bah, who needs it in the 21st century. Antiquated idea that is!</sarcasm>

The .gov ruined this man’s life and arguably sent him to an early grave. I’m glad to see people still spreading the story. Your government lies. It is not trustworthy or reliable, and when one finds oneself on a jury, that bias should be firmly entrenched. The media are even bigger liars.

Maryland lawmakers are talking more gun laws after a mass shooter followed Joe Biden’s advice and got himself a shotgun.

This has to be awkward for the Obama Administration.

This has to be disappointing for Mom’s Demand Action.

A wood AR-15 lower. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The only problem with wood as a material is that it can splinter along its grain, and it has a tendency to expand and contract with heat and moisture. So while I think this would work, I think it will tend to unreliability. Why use wood when there are polymers just as easy to machine?

What stupid laws look like.

Never get out of the boat.

Meet the Black Talon of the 21st Century.

The New Way of Thinking about Law

I have to strongly recommend, as odd as it might sound, this post over at Free Range Kids for some interesting reading on the way one mother believes many Americans view the use of laws, specifically registry laws. The post has nothing to say about guns or gun laws, but I think it’s very insightful and applies to many of the ways that anti-gun advocates view gun laws, even when they know they won’t work to reduce crime. Here is a sample, but you should go read the whole thing:

I think what weâ€™re really seeing here is just our countryâ€™s punitive mindset. Itâ€™s like we cannot imagine any way to express to somebody that we donâ€™t like what they are doing except for calling it â€œabuseâ€ and putting them on a registry. …

The point of laws should be public safety, not public humiliation, but more and more of our laws and moving in the direction of seeming to be more about shaming and humiliating and branding people who made decisions we donâ€™t like rather than actually protecting the public from truly dangerous people.

I think the Connecticut gun owner registration picture we saw is a great example of how this works in our issue. Law enforcement officers know that the person who is going to use a firearm to rob or murder a person isn’t going to register it. They also know that they are unlikely to catch them with the unregistered firearm before (or during) the crime. But, this kind of perp line is designed to shame the gun owners who are not dangerous and pose no threat to society. Even better for the anti-gun advocate is the fact that creating such a scene makes it easier for them to judge and try to shame the non-threats over the simple fact that they disagree with the decision these men and women made to own guns in the first place.

If the oppressive laws keep you from buying more guns or send you packing out of the state, well, that’s just even better from their point of view. Now they can try and shame you without actually facing the consequences of such a decision or having people challenge them to what it means.

As I said, the letter at Free Range Kids has nothing to do with gun laws, but I think it does accurately represents the way that many voters now think about how they would like the force of law to work. The letter published there does a great job of highlighting ways that the slippery slope of this way of thinking could end up making you a criminal on a public humiliation registry for just about every common decision that someone somewhere might not like.

Connecticut GOP Primary Shapes Up

Also from the Wall Street Journal. One of the candidates is the Mayor of Danbury, who is a MAIG Mayor. Some of the other guys are willing to run against the new gun control laws. No matter what the outcome of the general election, gun owners in Connecticut need to make sure the gun control supporting Republicans get squashed like bugs in the primary, especially if they were members of MAIG. MAIG membership needs to become toxic for those seeking higher public office.

Who Spent What in the Connecticut Gun Control Fight?

This Wall Street Journal article is telling, in terms of who spends what money trying to fight for gun control laws.

For Connecticut’s new gun control:

Connecticut Against Gun Violence: $150,234
Mayors Against Illegal Guns: $153,011
Total for: $303,245

Against Connecticut’s new gun control:

National Rifle Association: $145,265
Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen: $24,295
NSSF: $83,344
Total against: $252,904

Our side got outspent, but remember that we’re the big-bad corporate gun lobby. They are just a bunch of concerned mayors and mothers our to pass some common sense laws to fight gun violence.

Beretta to Tennessee

Tennessee leaders are apparently excited to welcome a new investment from Beretta in their state that will apparently be in Gallatin, near Nashville. Considering you can’t drive 10 miles in that area without passing billboards for gun shops or gun ranges, I’d say that the 300 people they employee there will probably be among their best customers.

I find it amazing how quickly these blue, anti-gun states with leaders who claim to care about working class folks are so quick to dismiss the manufacturing jobs created by gun companies. The companies are clearly getting tired of it and moving.

Gun Control in the SOTU

They got less than a minute in an hour-five-minute speech. This isn’t much of a bone compared to last year, when he at much greater length and passion, demanded that gun control get a vote (which he lost):

Citizenship means standing up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each day. I have seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, and police officers all over this country who say â€œwe are not afraid,â€ and I intend to keep trying, with or without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters, shopping malls, or schools like Sandy Hook.

That’s it. Not much meat there, Shannon Watts. Neither Brady nor CSGV certainly have much to chew on either. That’s all he thinks they’re worth, and he’s about as on your side as Â they can realistically hope for. Granted, he can still do a lot of damage with executive orders, but this indicates to me he’s given up on Congress, and that’s a good thing for us.

UPDATE: John Richardson notes: “[Michelle Obama] had four invitees last year post-Newtown to push the issues. This year the sole invitee representing ‘gun violence’ is the school bookkeeper from Atlanta who talked a school shooter into giving up the gun.“

Ready for the SOTU?

I am. I think I am sufficiently sauced. What I’m going to be on the lookout for is whether he brings up gun control. Last year he certainly did. They got their vote and they lost. Will he want to expend political capital on gun control this year? We shall see. I’ll update if he says anything worth noting.

UPDATE: Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly will be releasing a new ad during SOTU, but will the President back them up with rhetoric of his own?

9:21: He still hasn’t said anything yet. I mean anything. Not just about gun control. Blah blah blah blah.

9:23: Everyone looks dour. Even the progressive Dems don’t seem to have the energy for Obama. Even Michelle looks clinically depressed.

9:23: The death of upward mobility! Well, not like you’re helping with that any, asshole.

9:24: He’ll expand opportunity for American families, even if it means having to become a dictator!

9:28: I’m pretty sure I could code something up to write Obama speeches at this point. This is objectively bad. He’s saying everything short of “shovel ready.” It’s like every Obama speech is a compilation of every other Obama speech. I thought Bush was bad in this regard.

9:31: The federal government is responsible for Google and the iPhone, according to President Obama! There’s nothing the .gov can’t do!

9:32: I actually agree with the President on patent reform. This is a rare occurrence for me to agree with anything he has to say.

9:34: Man, this whole Congress could use some Prozac. I think they’re all clinically depressed.

9:35: “Fuels of the future.” Unicorn farts, apparently.

9:37: Fixing our “broken immigration system” is the only thing that seems to make Democrats not be clinically depressed.

9:38: Dick Dubrin seems to be the only asshole that still gets a hard on from Obama’s speeches. He’s smiling like a squirrel in a nuthouse.

9:40: He’s commanded Joe Biden to find everyone who needs a job the training they need to get a job. I’m guessing that’s going to keep him too busy to lobby for more gun control.

9:41: Restoring unemployment animates the Democrats briefly again…. or maybe not… that died out quickly… second try for that applause line just doesn’t quite do it. Back to clinical depression.

9:43: This is the most depressed I’ve ever seen Congress at a SOTU. Both sides. Even the Republicans can’t get a good boo going. What’ worth booing? It’s just dreck.

9:46: We’re spending all kinds of money and not adding any to the deficit, according to the President. I wish my finances could work like that! Education is an investment! Yeah, I’m still making student loan payments to prove it, and I am turning 40 soon.

9:49: We’re getting all war-on-women now, but it’s all “war on their wallets” and not their girly parts.

9:52: Now we’re on minimum wage, because there’s no downside to anything. Money just farts out of the backside of the unicorn. This from a guy who’s never had to meet a payroll in his life.

9:54: MyIRA? MyRA? I don’t know what he’s talking about. Turns out my namesake family are Ulster Scotts. I don’t support the IRA, sorry.

9:56: Obamacare is helping real people, according to the President. Well, for us real people, it’s made insurance on the individual market unaffordable, whereas it was previously. Thanks, dude!

9:58: Democrats are as animated as I’ve seen them tonight in cheering Obamacare, which has done nothing except make insurance unaffordable and push more people off the insurance roles. Keep cheering. Yes, keep cheering. America is increasingly recognizing this turd for what it is.

9:59: He wants us all to get covered by March 31st! Well, you know, when you charge twice as much for crappier coverage, you can f**k right the hell off. We’re not going to play his game in our house. At least he’s not repeating the lie, “If you like your plan you can keep it!”

10:01: Citizenship is being anti-gun! He’s talking about gun control! “I intend to keep trying, with or without congress….” to shit on our rights as Americans. I’ll get more detail on this section of the speech shortly.

10:03: We’re on to our troops now. Well, that’s some dedication to gun control right there. Didn’t even get two minutes of the President’s time in a longwinded, empty speech. Now he’s talking about how we’re not actually losing in Afghanistan.

10:08: “We have to close the prison at Guantamo!” Wasn’t this a campaign promise in 2008? Five SOTUs later and he’s still making promises about closing Guantamo? Does anyone think this is serious a this point?

10:13: Apparently Iran better never build a nuclear bomb, or Obama will write them another strongly worded letter, saying just how angry he is.

Well, that’s all she wrote. I’ve haven’t witnessed such a low key, depressed SOTU for some time. Shannon Watts and Bloomberg got a whole one minute or so of an hour and five minute speech. Yeah, I don’t think the gun control folks have much to celebrate from this.