Sebastian – Page 329 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Online Civil Liberties

This fight is almost as tiring as gun rights, in that it’s constantly under assault by clueless, power hungry politicians:

Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messagesÂ without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.

If you want to know why I self-host everything, this is why. You want to look into my electronic affairs? Personal files? E-mail? Bring me a warrant. It’s also why I only use Facebook for platitudes and crap I don’t care if other people know.

Meet the Mayors

Thanks to John Richardson for pointing out this compilation from SAF of Mayor Bloomberg’s mayors. This echo’s Dave Hardy’s effort along the same vein here. Mayors Against Illegal Guns: you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Social Commentary on TSA

That’s pretty funny right there.

Oh Noes! Freedom!

Here’s another pant wetter:

Our philosophy does indeed need to change: We need to find the real and moral courage to stand down the gun lobbies â€” the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment zealots â€” whose reckless defense of gun rights has led to a society where almost anyone can acquire a Glock 9mm and the ammunition needed to ruin lives and communities in seconds.

Almost anyone who isn’t a felon, domestic abuser, ever been committed to the loony bin or forced into mental health treatment. You use the word “gun rights.” Somehow I don’t think it means what you think it means.

CBS Baltimore’s Scare Tactics

Count this in the category of people in Boston waking up in a cold sweat worried there might be someone out there having fun:

Right now, your neighbors could be stockpiling weapons in their homesâ€“and itâ€™s perfectly legal. In light of recent violence, some question whether the law makes it too easy to do so.

The only thing that should concern anyone, in regards to their neighbor stockpiling guns, is if you’re one of those “Keeping up with the Joneses” types and are worried his collection might make yours look sad by comparison. I’ve never understood what the panic is about the number of guns people have. You can only carry so many with you. How many cases of mass shooting have occurred where someone has amassed an “arsenal” and then took it with them? Of course, most reporters think if you have more than one gun, you have an arsenal, so I guess that’s the answer.

Alsobrooks prosecuted Prescott. She believes Maryland gun laws should be re-examined to weed out people who shouldnâ€™t have a collectorâ€™s permit, including people with mental illness.

I’m always amazed by this pre-crime Majority Report mentality, like if we just tweak the laws the right way, no one who is a bit off kilter and no one who is just a flaming asshole will ever get their hands on a gun again. The prescription almost always is to make guns harder to buy and possess in general, in the hopes that maybe a few loons will be discouraged. But you know, it never seems to be the loons who are discouraged.

Honoring our Dead With Russian Rifles?

Apparently there’s an honor guard in South Dakota so strapped for cash that they are putting their honored dead to rest with the sound of SKS fire. The Governor of South Dakota can do something about this, and should.

State Registration Schemes

I’m not all that familiar with Washington State gun laws on registration, but this looks like the same thing that happens in Pennsylvania. I don’t think this is an issue of federal law at all, and the original posting that Dave Hardy links to misunderstands FOPA, as Dave points out.

Much like Pennsylvania, this information is likely obtained from state required forms, which don’t fall under the purview of the federal government. In Pennsylvania’s case, the “Record of Sale” is used to compile a computerized registry. If Washington State has a state form for gun purchases, it’s coming from that. Otherwise, Washington State is a partial Point-of-Contact state for Brady Act purposes, so it’s Washington State, not the FBI, which process background checks for every handgun sold. It’s also likely that system is tied in with a state “registry” as well. In Pennsylvania, a registry is supposed to be illegal by statute, but the State Supreme Court ruled that computerizing every Record of Sale was not a registry, because it wasn’t a complete record of firearm ownership. Of course, in the past, that hasn’t stopped the police from treating it as such, and confiscating guns at traffic stops for not being “legally registered” to the owner.

Finger Behind the Trigger?

This is one of the worst ideas I’ve seen in a long time.

NY Senate Still Undecided

Jacob notes that it’s two weeks later, and still not clear who’s is control. Microstamping hangs in the balance, as well as whether Reminginton looks the fool for betting on so awful a state as New York to expand its manufacturing in.

Entry Into 2014 Guv Race

John Hanger seems to be hanging his name out there. I know nothing about his record on the topic of this blog, but as a former Rendell Administration official, I am not terribly optimistic. Pennsylvania has a long and strong tradition of pro-2A Democrats, but from where I sit they are quickly becoming an endangered species. Given Corbett’s weakness, with low approval ratings, we need to keep a close eye on the Democratic field.