Author: Sebastian
George Zimmerman Legal News
Looks like his attorneys have set up a site for news in the George Zimmerman case here. They’ll eventually be accepting donations to his legal defense fund. There were rumors that Zimmerman had raised 200,000 dollars himself, but I don’t know how true those rumors were, of if he can touch those funds at all.
Task Force Meets Today in Florida
Governor Scott’s task force is meeting today. We shall soon see how much trouble this task force intends to cause us. NRA has an alert here.
UPDATE: Looks like one of the legislative opponents of SYG has already released recommendations from his task force. You can view the full report here. What’s interesting is that even staunch opponents of SYG are too fearful of public opinion to put a duty to retreat back in the bill. They mostly recommend chipping away at the bill around the periphery, suggesting legal changes the general public is unlikely to understand.
Romney’s Court Advisor: Robert Bork
This is not good news for gun owners, or Second Amendment advocates, given that Bork is a well known advocate of collective right theory. Of course, this also isn’t the end of the world, given that Bork won’t be choosing himself. There won’t be too many candidates on Romney’s short list that will be embracers of collective rights. There are a few, however, and we have to watch out for them. The big fear is that Romney doesn’t really understand the subtleties of “conservatism:, since he is not one himself, and attempts to pander in a ridiculous and stupid way, using logic like “Reagan appointed Bork, conservatives love Reagan and therefore conservatives must also love Bork.”
Bush bungled a nomination too, with Harriet Meyers, but we had the benefit of other parts of the right-of-center coalition being unhappy. The real risk, and this risk was present with Bush, is that Romney would pick someone acceptable to other parts of the movement, except for gun owners, and we standing alone don’t have the power to scuttle the nominee. But whether we can do that or not is up to us; we certainly have the people power enough to accomplish it.
Alert for New York Gun Owners
Looks like the Assembly didn’t hear that these kinds of “safe storage” laws were tossed with Heller. From Tom King, head of NYSRPA:
YOUR RIGHT TO HOME PROTECTION IS IN JEOPARDY!
Assembly Bill 3292-A is flawed legislation that will make it a crime to leave an unlocked gun in your home. We have a constitutional right to defend our homes and our loved ones. In March, well over a thousand sportsmen rallied in Albany in a demonstration of solidarity for our Second Amendment freedom. If A.3292-A becomes law then an elderly homeowner, a single woman, or a husband defending his family will now have to be worried about where the state mandated key is to unlock the gun cabinet when confronted by an intruder. The intent of the law is to make homes safer for children but far more children are harmed by accidentally ingesting household chemicals or medicines. What’s next – state mandated locks for our kitchen and medicine cabinets?
You can’t [legislate] common sense. Call your local Assemblymember and tell them to vote NO on A.3292-A.The debate could begin on Gun Storage Bill (A.3292-A) today. Watch the debate here. http://assembly.state.ny.us/av/
This ostensibly is “for the children,” but I would note that this applies to any household, such as mine, that does not have children. The purpose it will serve is important, which is more gun owners being in prison. We harp on helping create more law abiding gun owners, they try, as best they can, to make it difficult to own a gun and be law abiding.
Richard Feldman’s New Gun Group
Independent Firearms Owners Association. Feldman was a disgruntled former NRA employee who wrote the book “Ricochet, Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist.” Keeping in mind the book’s point of view, it’s a worthwhile read. But Uncle notes that his issue seems to be guns and weed, as he’s speaking out against the drug war. I was wondering what the purpose of this group could be. Since it’s close to election time, it’s time to watch out for false flags like the now defunct American Hunters and Shooters Association.
But Feldman never struck me as a tool, since he’s remained pretty faithful to gun rights. Looking over the site I have to come to the opinion that the purpose of the group is further employment for Richard Feldman, rather than any false flag campaign, or for any other nefarious purpose related to the 2012 elections. I’d just be rather curious what IFOA’s strategy and goal is, because it’s not easy to discern what they plan to accomplish that other groups are not already doing.
Is Marissa Alexander a Poster Child for SYG?
There’s been a lot of hubbub about the case of Marissa Alexander, a woman who pulled a gun on her abusive husband and has now been found guilty of three counts of Aggravated Assault on a Florida court, after being denied immunity under the SYG law. A superficial reading of the case in the media, and you might be readily inclined to believe this is a double standard. After looking through as many sources on the case as I could find, including original sources, I don’t believe it’s as conclusive.
There is absolutely no doubt, reading the initial deposition from her husband, that he’s pretty much scum. If she had aided his departure from the realm of the living, I wouldn’t shed a tear for him. But that’s a different matter from whether she’s legally entitled to a SYG defense. Alexander’s husband recanted much of the testimony that appears in that link, and if you read the denial of immunity, you will note that the evidence in the case comports with her having pointed the gun in his direction, and not into the air as both he and she had stated in the beginning.
Furthermore, the sequence of events in the case (click through to public access) lines up with a lot of the more detailed media reports I came across. She was originally granted bail, and told not to have contact with any of the victims. She violated that, and made contact with them, assaulted the husband, was rearrested and charged with domestic battery. Her bond on the original charge was revoked. Her attorney, at this point, motioned to withdraw as counsel and it was granted.
In any case of self-defense, your credibility is really going to be key to winning your case. Alexander, through her own actions, destroyed her own credibility. In that case, it’s going to come down to evidence, and agreed upon facts, in determining whether she acted reasonably in threatening her husband and his two children with a gun. In this case, those facts seem to point to Alexander not having a reasonable fear of grave bodily injury or death at the time she employed a firearm. When being judged by a reasonable person standard, it is very important for a jury to believe you are a reasonable person. Otherwise, as the Alexander case shows, you won’t be given benefit of doubt when testimony and facts dispute your accounting of things.
That said, Florida imposes a mandatory minimum for aggravated assault with a firearm of 20 years. This seems excessive to me for an act that ultimately did not harm anyone. It’s worth noting that the prosecution offered a plea deal that was ultimately rejected, but regardless, 20 years with no possibility of parole seems harsh. You won’t do that for armed robbery in Pennsylvania.
New Face of Gun Owners
The Tampa Bay Times ran an op-ed yesterday, speaking of the explosion of CWL holders in the State of Florida:
They may not have those exact numbers at their fingertips at the Wyoming Antelope Club in Clearwater, but they are well aware of the trends. Seats for their $50 concealed weapons permit class (CWP) are often filled more than a month in advance.
And you may be interested to see who is sitting in those seats.
Men, yes. But almost half of the class in April was female. Hunters and gun enthusiasts, yes. But there were a fair number of people who had never before fired a gun.
This is not going to be welcome news for our opponents, but it is welcome news for us. I like hearing more women carrying. Women are far more likely to carry for the right reasons, and to take their responsibility and training more seriously.
Mitt Romney is not the Savior of the Republic
It’s pretty clear over at places such as Uncle and Robb (the last one is really funny, go click), that Mitt Romney isn’t lighting the gun blogosphere ablaze with enthusiasm. I think the problem is that Mitt Romney is not the savior of the Republic at a time when people feel like the Republic needs one.
I recall a conversation we had with one of Bitter’s lobbyist friends when campaign 2012 was just getting started. Her friend noted that Romney was surrounding himself with the same people Bush did, and Bush Part III and Part IV are certainly not what we really need right now.
So I set my expectations for Romney low. All I’m looking for Romney to do is to replace the Chicago machine with the devil we know. I’m looking for him to make better Supreme Court and Federal Court appointments than Obama would, and I’m looking for the White House to remain accountable to voters, and have to stand for re-election in four years. That’s all I’m really expecting. I think Romney can probably also be counted on to, at least, ease off the accelerator a bit to give us more time in the game to see if we draw a winning hand in the future.
It’s worth noting that both parties are making attempts to purge their moderates. Dick Lugar is increasingly looking like he’s going down in Indiana, and the defeat of blue dog Democrats Tim Holden by a much more left-wing challenger, and the defeat of Jason Altmire by a more left-center candidate, are actually pretty remarkable in politics. This doesn’t happen often, and when it does, politicians take notice. This will be an opportunity for both parties to grow new leadership.
But that doesn’t necessary portend good things, having both parties polarized. I’m not sure where having the GOP lead far right and the Dems leading far left is going to lead. If we fight culture wars, the Democrats tend to win independents. But if we’re arguing about deficits, spending and the economy, Independents tend to follow the GOP.
But will the GOP be smart enough not to fight culture wars while we drive off the fiscal cliff? Like Nixon going to China, the Democrats are probably the only ones who can defuse the entitlement bomb. Will a far left Democratic Party be able to accomplish that? Will the GOP have political cover from Independents to do it over the objections of the left? I don’t really know. A lot is going to happen in the next decade. All I’m counting on Romney to do is give it time to play out, while we solidify our Second Amendment protections through the courts.
Tab Clearing: Catching Up From Boston Edition
Took a bit to catch up on blogs, since I hadn’t been reading all week because of the mid-week business trip to Boston. But now I’m caught up, and have my tabs loaded up.
Thirdpower compares CSGV headquarters in Washington D.C. to NRA’s Headquarters in Fairfax. CSGV HQ is located over a bar. To be fair, NRA’s Federal Affairs office in D.C. is located over a bar as well. I’d also point out, having been in NRA’s office, they aren’t wasting your membership money on posh office furniture. I also find it interesting that despite the claim CSGV is not about banning guns, their office decor would seem to say otherwise.
Tam notes that parody is becoming impossible.
Jacob notes gun control FAIL in New York’s Capitol in Albany. Bitter’s talk at NRA’s Grassroots Seminar was better attended than this rally, and this is New York State. Naturally the media ignored it. The big problem is that the cowards at ALEC and Corporate America in general don’t know the difference between a real grassroots movement, and astroturfing ginned up by Soros and his buddies. Jacob also notes that Mayor Bloomberg isn’t very highly regarded by NRA Annual Meeting attendees.
Back to Thirdpower again, where he notes that CSGV would seem to believe that women should run away from spousal abusers rather than act in self-defense. I’m becoming more and more convinced that the extremists at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence do not, in fact, believe in the right to defend ones life.
Tom Maguire notes that at least some in the black community are speaking out against seeking justice for Trayvon by beating up white people, but we’re hearing crickets from the Rev. Al and Rev. Jackson.
Clayton Cramer notes that gun owners might want to close their accounts with Bank of America and reports on an important case in the Kentucky Supreme Court which allows students to have a firearm in their vehicle on campus.
NRA-ILA’s Chief Lobbyist Chris Cox writes a letter to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, decrying their position on guns in parking lots.
A gun carrying man ended a stabbing spree, which is two things our opponents say never happens wrapped into one incident, that a gun owner stopped a mass killer, and that there are such things as stabbing sprees.
Americans are increasingly in favor of gun rights and gay marriage. I favor both, as does Professor Reynolds, who I owe a hat tip to for this link.
John Richardson notes that Holder is getting close to being issued a contempt citation, and that there are no coincidences when it comes to BATFE dragging forward the Mexican Gun Canard once again.
Larry Elder, of the Los Angeles Daily News, notes that gun owners are wise to fear Obama. Anyone who can count to five can see that, which apparently does not include many members of the media.
Eugene Volokh notes a Second Amendment case in Hawaii that could mean someone convicted of misdemeanor harassment, that did not involve violence, cannot be denied the right to own a firearm.