Sebastian – Page 456 – Shall Not Be Questioned

NFA Hacks

Uncle has several links to NFA hacks that sound very interesting. I say sound, because I haven’t looked at them yet. Since I don’t work in America anymore, and my glass barrier half-height cubicle (which I’ve nicknamed the fishbowl) is a tourist attraction for about 100 coworkers on their way to the only pot of coffee on this side of the building, I’m reluctant to look at gun p0rn on the work computer. I’ll have to check to see if it’s as cool as it sounds when I get back to America.

In other news, this week I don’t have to do all post aheads in the afternoon. Only about half my posts today are scheduled. Not much to do this week, unfortunately. I actually really hate being bored at work.

Does a Concealed Gun = Reasonable Suspicion?

Orin Kerr, who is the Volokh Conspiracy’s resident 4th Amendment Guru, talks about a recent decision in federal court in New Mexico. I was always under the impression that whether and officer has RAS for a stop if he spots a concealed handgun depended on the wording of the statute. If carrying concealed was generally unlawful, except if you had a permit, then an officer would be permitted to stop to ensure the person fell under the exception. Professor Kerr says otherwise:

The courtâ€™s analysis seems wrong to me. The officers saw a guy with a gun. A crime would be afoot only if the man lacked a proper permit. But the officers had no idea if the man had a permit to carry the gun at the time they made the stop: They didnâ€™t inquire, and instead initiated the stop only upon seeing the gun. Obviously, if the officers had asked Rodriguez if he had a license before the stop, and he had said no, the officers would have had both reasonable suspicion and even probable cause to make the arrest. But I think they have to ask first and get evidence of the crime before the stop, not stop first and then get evidence to justify it.

This decision also is in contrast to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision which suggests that the presence of a firearm does not amount to RAS for an officer to conduct a stop. I’m glad Professor Kerr is making the case for this decision being wrong. I don’t believe the exercise of a constitutional right should be subject to stops from police. They should need to have RAS you’re committing a crime, and the mere presence of a firearm, concealed or otherwise, should not amount to that.

More Evidence of Duplicity

Joe Huffman offers further evidence that our opponents were indeed about gun bans, no matter what they may say today. There was some speculation in the comments of the last post that this was meant to keep the money rolling in. I have little doubt that most of our opponents machinations are intended for this purpose, but if having to distance themselves from bans is necessary, what does it say about the viability of their cause? Isn’t that pretty much an admission that only kooks and whack jobs want to ban guns? And what does it say that there hasn’t been a whole lot of leadership turnover since those days when these groups publicly advocated for bans? Just sayin.

Hi-Point 9mm Carbine

Both Tam and Kevin made me remember that I actually own a 9mm Hi-Point carbine, which I acquired early on in my gun owning days, and have hardly shot since. It’s actually pretty reliable, but the ergonomics of the gun are atrocious, and it does, unfortunately, seem to slowly eat itself while it shoots. The bolt is essentially made from pot metal, and I’ve noticed some parts bending after firing repeatedly. Of course, you can buy three of them for the cost of a 9mm AR, so it’s disposable. I wouldn’t depend on one to save my life, but it’s not a bad shooter if you just want a 9mm carbine to shoot on occasion. As it is, I’ve only shot mine once in the past 8 years, and that was in Knoxville, several years ago. I just don’t have a fancy for pistol caliber carbines.

PA Castle Doctrine Tested

Ironically, it didn’t involve a gun. Instead it involved in someone shooting an arrow at an attacker wielding a club from his porch. To the best of my knowledge, no Cherokee were harmed in this first test of the law.

Sometimes My Editorial Sense Fails

When I saw the original New York Times article blasting conceaed carry as a dangerous idea, I kind of dismissed it, because commenting on an anti-gun article from the New York Times is kind of like commenting on a cloudy day in Seattle. But apparently this one was pretty awful. Both Professor Reynolds, who has a roundup of blog reactions, and Professor Kopel, who notes what the Times didn’t tell readers, do a pretty good job of refuting the Times’ shoddy reporting.

I have little doubt the Times is doing this at the behest of King Bloomberg of New York, to create some ammunitino against HR822, which will will open the Big Apple to carry by permits from other states. Every once in a while I think something is “dog bites man”, but it turns out to be a big story. This is one of those occasions.

Bad Journalism on Private Sales

If I were running a high school newspaper, I would have sent this article back for rewriting. But this is what passes for journalism today, apparently, at least for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. This is perhaps one of the most juvenile editorials I’ve seen on the topic of private sales of guns, regarding a proposed bill in Ohio that would ban private sales, and direct everything through dealers for a ten dollar fee, fixed by the state.

This big problem routing everything through dealers is that it’s just a matter of who’s ox gets gored. If you let them charge market prices, you’re going to be paying anywhere from 30 dollars to 50 dollars for each firearm transferred. If you limit the fee to 10 dollars, you’re screwing the dealer out of his right to make a livlihood.

It’s amazing how many of these folks, who consider this whole background check thing an essential public service, don’t want the public to pay for it. As a matter of law, can anyone think of another instance where the government can force someone to provide a service for a fee set by the government? The only cases I can think of are being conscripted into military service, and being called for jury duty, both of which have deep roots in common law. Are there any other examples?

New Jersey Has a Coyote Problem

In addition to a bear hunt, it looks like New Jersey is planning to cull the coyote population. Apparently one of them tried to make off with a baby. A lot of people seem to have a hard time understanding, without the ability to manufacture and use weapons, human beings are not apex predators, we’re prey. When other predators lose their fear of people, bad things are going to happen. The advice from the state is if you see a coyote, make sure it moves along. In most other areas, even in New York, as the article notes, it’s lawful to shoot them. It doesn’t take very long before the predators learn to steer clear of humans.

Even CNN Is Noticing

CNN is reporting on record high sales of firearms. That data is pretty clear, but the Brady Campaign are still in denial:

“The research we’ve seen indicates fewer and fewer people are owning more and more guns,” said Caroline Brewer of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “All the trends indicate the number of Americans who own guns has declined.”

What “research we’ve seen?” As they are well aware, polling is indicating otherwise. The ostrich approach is not going to make the “problem” go away. It’s not going to suddenly make it all true. I realize that Brady has to engage their donors, and not admit all is hopeless, but the denial is comical at this point. Even CNN is recognizing it.

The lesson for our opponents here is that unintended consequences work both ways. You were the ones that wanted the background check. Well, now we have it, and unfortunatly for you, it’s telling everyone your goose is cooked.

Collecting Your Own Rainwater

Clayton notes that it’s illegal in Utah, and I believe in many western states, to collect rainwater. People are weird about water in the West, because there’s not generally enough to go around, which I supposed is where the western phrase “Whiskey is for drinkin’, and water is for fightin’.” originated from. I suppose these were the rules, odd though they may be, that stopped people from killing each other over water rights.