A North Carolina man who moved to Pennsylvania got tired of having to dig out his car this winter, and ended up brandishing a gun at the guy operating the snowblower. Unbeknownst to him, apparently the snow blower operator was strapped too. Yet somehow this did not result in a shootout. If you believed the Bradys, the snow would have run red with blood that day, because clearly people can’t resist shooting each other. This guy pretty clearly needed shooting, and yet the legal gun carrier in this confrontation exercised restraint.
Category: Gun Rights
Own Worst Enemies
SayUncle notes the folks in the comments on NRA’s Facebook aren’t so hot on suppressors. My experience the comment section of NRA’s Facebook page is that it’s a great thing to read if you want your faith in humanity destroyed.
Generally speaking we’re limited in what we can accomplish by what our own people will demand. Many people online spend the vast majority of their time only talking to other people who agree with them, and don’t grasp that the main reason we’re not seeing a repeal of Hughes is that a vast majority of gun owners don’t support civilian machinegun ownership. Many feel the same way about suppressors. I’m not speaking of here of people who happen to own guns, I’m speaking here of people who culturally identify as gun owners (a big difference). We have a long way to go on these issues, but it’s familiarity that breeds comfort.
I’d be a hypocrite if I said everyone should buy a suppressor, and use it at their range, since I don’t yet own one myself. But I’m thinking of soon taking the plunge.
Ballistics Database Fail
Jacob reports the numbers. New York State has collected approximately 312,000 shell casings, spent 40 million dollars, and solved no crimes. NYSRPA press release on it is here:
NYSRPA calls upon Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state legislative leaders to publicly recognize these boondoggles for what they are, defund the CoBIS program and stand up to the fringe special interests advocating microstamping.
I wouldn’t put any money on that happening any time soon. The standard government answer to something that doesn’t work and wastes lots of money is that it was not properly funded or managed, so the solution is to spend even more money on the failure.
NRA, Doctors Compromise on Florida Bill
This was a stupid bill to begin with, so I’m glad they’ve come to an agreement. This wasn’t a fight that needed to be picked.
Indoctrination
Glad to see local Tea Party activists making a big issue of something like this:
Rickabaugh, who has a child in the high school, also said the teacher espoused beliefs that the Second Amendment has no place in contemporary society and that socialized medicine is better for Americans.
The left has controlled our educational institutions for entirely too long. If we’re going to beat them back in the long run, it’s going to take people like Rickabaugh. Use the left’s own standards against them. That’s what Saul Alinsky would have done.
NRA Lawyer Dies in Skydiving Accident
A conservative Delaware County mayor who worked on behalf of the National Rifle Association to challenge Philadelphia’s well-publicized attempts at local gun laws died in a skydiving accident Friday.
C. Scott Shields, 45, was killed around 4:30 p.m. when his main parachute did not deploy and his emergency chute failed. He landed in the trees surrounding the Cross Keys airport in Gloucester County and was pronounced dead on arrival at Underwood Memorial Hospital in Woodbury, N.J.
Bring it On
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks Obama needs to grow a spine when dealing with the “gun lobby.”
If Mr. Obama called for limiting the size of ammunition clips in certain weapons, something that we and even former Vice President Dick Cheney think is a good idea, it would confirm the NRA’s darkest conspiracy theories. But all Mr. Obama wants is a reasoned discussion, and the mighty NRA can’t bear even that.
To them a reasonable discussion means “You guys talk about how much of the Second Amendment you are willing to surrender.” Â Personally, I’d prefer it if Obama came after us. We have the votes to defeat this in Congress, and that would be the excuse we need to fire our people up headed into 2012. That’s going to be a lot harder if politicians like Casey and Tester can still claim Obama won’t touch the gun issue.
Philly Mayor and Police Chief Back Magazine Ban
Not really shocking. Neither of these two have ever met a gun control bill they didn’t like:
Ramsey, also president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said there’s “simply no legitimate reason not to have this ban in place.”
So are you going to take them away from your officers then Commissioner? I say lead by example. If there’s no legitimate reason to have one, your cops don’t need them either.
Times Dispatch Gets It
They take Obama to task for trying to seek a phony “middle ground” on gun control:
So it is with guns. The president is fond of speaking about “common sense” gun restrictions. To supporters of the Second Amendment, that is like speaking about “common sense” press restrictions in the context of the First — which forbids any restrictions at all. There is nothing particularly noble about compromise when it calls for someone to compromise his principles.
As the article mentions, this isn’t some obscure budgetary matter, or building a bridge, where there could be some give an take. This cuts to the very core of the citizens’ relationship with government.
Bans on Guns in National Parks Upheld
Both Eugene Volokh and Dave Hardy have commentary. The courts can not be counted on to do anything except take the extreme, like total gun bans in the home, off the table. I’m not optimistic about much else.
UPDATE: More from Josh Blackman
UPDATE: Even more here.