Author: Sebastian

A group of gun dealers and a few state lawmakers are filing suit to keep PICS from shutting down for four days in September.  Rendell’s office had this to say:

“Although we understand that there is no perfect time to upgrade the system the simple fact remains that the system must be upgraded,” Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said.

Rendell is looking at possibly delaying the upgrade.  As an IT professional, I can tell you there’s no reason for a multi-day outage.  Any upgrade should be able to be completed in a few overnight hours, at worst.  At best, things like this can be done with no downtime at all.   Banks manage to do it, online retailers manage to do it.  I’m not suggesting this is a deliberate attempt to screw gun owners, but the PA State Police might want to consider hiring more competent IT help.

Hat tip to Rightwingprof 

Go read Countertop’s great post on the decline of hunting in Virginia. He places the blame on the NRA and Christian Coalition:

You see, the NRA has so far refused to engage in the fight. I blame some of their internal staff, one of whom apparently used to run the lobby shop for the Christian Coalition. I have it on good word that he (and others inside the organization) are often more aligned with Pat Robertson on issues than with the NRA’s actual membership (which would go a long way towards explaining the organizations recent trend away from being Non Partisan and instead becoming an arm of the Republican Party).

…

So what gives NRA? Why aren’t you pressing to save Virginia hunting?? Cam, can we get you to ask this question? Michael? Dave?

Whether people want to admit it or not, with all the terms like “fudd” and the like thrown around, hunters are a critical component for the right to keep and bear arms, both in terms of a positive public image of the shooting sports, and in political advocacy.

While it’s true that a lot of hunters couldn’t be bothered to get involved, in my experience with grass roots politics in this issue, at least in Pennsylvania, when the chips are down it’s hunters who show up. When I attended the Committee of the Whole in Harrisburg last year, most of the other pro-gun types I ran into, who weren’t the activists from ACSL, were affiliated with the state’s hunting communities and sportsmens groups. Pro-gun folks numbered all of about 400, compared to the thousands the city bussed in. The more hunting loses, the more we all lose, so it’s something those of us who identify more as shooters need to be concerned about.

UPDATE: Countertop has more here and here.

The timing here is ironic. Ironic in the sense that it’s happening on the same day Reverend Jesse Jackson is planning nationwide protests for stronger gun laws.

Dave Hardy tells us that August 28th is the day that the Missouri permit to purchase ends. There are a few states that have this requirement. New Jersey is one, but New Jersey enacted it in 1968, at a time when the whole country was trending toward more gun control.

North Carolina and, until Tuesday, Missouri are others. In the case of these two states, the laws are remnants of Jim Crow. Missouri passed its law after race riots in the 20s. North Carolina passed its law a few years before. Though applied equally today, these laws were originally intended to disarm disfavored minority groups, including African-Americans, and for all practical purposes, were never applied to your average WASP.

Robert Cottrol and Ray Diamond have also written more on the subject. I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Cottrol at in St. Louis last April. If you’ve never been on an NRA convention, it’s a great opportunity to meet with some of the great minds of second amendment scholarship. The 2008 meeting will be in Louisville, Kentucky. Great place to go and meet up with interesting folk, and some of your favorite gun bloggers.