Category: Gun Rights

Howard Nemerov on the Brady Campaign state ranking and crime rates:

Further evidence of bias appears when correlating Brady scores with FBI violent crime rates. Only six states, plus D.C., scored over 50 (on a scale of 100). All but one of Brady’s “top 7” restrict law-abiding citizens from carrying concealed handguns. Brady’s “best” averaged a violent crime rate of 577.3 and a Brady score of 64.1. Brady’s nine “worst” all received a score under 6, and all have liberal concealed carry laws (also called “right-to-carry”). They averaged a violent crime rate of 398.1––45.0% lower than Brady’s “best” states––and a Brady score of 3.4.

Says a lot, I think. Howard does a lot of great analysis, and this is definitely in that category.

With Nordyke’s En Banc hearing happening as we speak, there’s more going on in the Golden State that will have serious consequences. California is essentially on the verge of making it virtually impossible to remain there and still be a competitive shooter, hunter, or other type of enthusiast.

Sitting on the Governator’s desk are two bills, one to outlaw gun shows at cow palace, SB585, and the other to create a detailed regulatory and registration system for ammo that will ban internet sales, AB962.  See this flyer about telling Schwarzenegger to veto these bills.

Howard Nemerov is reporting that Cabela’s is getting on board pressuring the Governor by saying they will stop selling ammunition in California if this is signed into law. I suspect a lot other ammo vendors will too, as the costs to comply with this are going to be high.  This isn’t a lost cause, as Schwarzenegger has been willing to veto similar bills in the past, so he might help us out here. But folks need to call.

New Castle County is considering a Katrina bill, and it goes to show how it doesn’t take much to make a change to government at the local level:

Tansey is not a gun owner himself, but says he was approached by Brandt Farley, a constituent active in the National Rifle Association who pointed out what he believes are shortcomings in the county code.

Farley, who also owns First State Firearms, said language that gives the county executive the right to place “limitations upon the carrying or stockpiling of firearms, weapons or ammunition” is out of step with state and federal statutes.

“Delaware state law prevents other municipalities from passing patchwork gun laws,” Farley said.

“The concern is that what happened during [Hurricane] Katrina in New Orleans, where Louisiana passed a law that prohibited the accumulation of guns, doesn’t happen here,” Tansey said.

One guy, and they are looking to change the law. I hope we see more of this, particularly with the Bloomberg mayors.

We’re always told we’re paranoid when we suggest that the end game of the gun control movement is door to door  confiscation. I mean, drag that kind of theory out, you might as well just fit yourself for a tin foil hat now and put on your wookie suit. Right? Maybe not:

Complicated amnesty laws around gun legislation have many owners confused. Now the city’s Guns and Gangs unit is going door to door setting people straight.

“If you have to ask the question if you are licensed… I can pretty much guarantee you are not in compliance,” said Superintendent Greg Getty, who works with the Organized Crime Enforcement unit.

So Getty and his team are going through tens of thousands of old gun registry documents to try and locate weapons where registration may have expired.

Well, you see, the registration didn’t expire. They still have it, obviously, they are just using the registry to locate the gun owners that have turned into criminals by letting a date on a piece of paper pass without jumping through the hoops to get another piece of paper with a different date. This article has even more details.

“We cannot leave those firearms in that person’s possession,” he said.

Those who “are less vigilant in maintaining proper licensing … may be equally lax in maintaining the safety and security of their weapons,” Blair said.

“Now that there are 400 fewer guns that can be stolen and put into the hands of criminals, I think we’ve created a safer situation,” he said. “This is very much an anti-violence measure.”

Canadian gun owners apparently weren’t paranoid enough. I’ll offer credit to Canadian authorities for not prosecuting these individuals, and giving them the opportunity to comply with the law, rather than just destroying their guns, but I have to wonder how much more effective it would be if police resources were dedicated to catching actual criminals rather than chasing around people who’s papers are not in order. But I suppose the latter is a much safer way to make it look like the authorities are doing something about the crime problem. Real criminals shoot back.

Dave Markowitz pointed out this section of the United States Code I had never seen before. It deals with federal regulations concerning toy, look alike, or imitation firearms, and requires the orange barrel that anyone who has ever bought an Airsoft gun in this country is familiar with. But it contains this provision at the very end:

(g) The provisions of this section shall supersede any provision of State or local laws or ordinances which provide for markings or identification inconsistent with provisions of this section provided that no State shall—

(i) prohibit the sale or manufacture of any look-alike, nonfiring, collector replica of an antique firearm developed prior to 1898, or

(ii) prohibit the sale (other than prohibiting the sale to minors) of traditional B–B, paint ball, or pellet-firing air guns that expel a projectile through the force of air pressure.

This is worded in a confusing manner, but my read of it is that the preemption is limited to marking requirements, meaning if New York City were to require that all imitation guns be painted bright pink, federal law would preempt that, provided that New York State does not outright prohibit the sale of look-alike arms. By the same token, Philadelphia would be unable to stipulate markings for an imitation firearm because Pennsylvania does not fall under the exception.

I could be reading this wrong though. Because the way it’s worded, it seems to be that you could read it that if any state passes a law along the lines of (i) or (ii) the entire preemption would be nullified.

New polls results are out, and they don’t look good for the gun control groups.  75% believe the constitution guarantees a right to own a gun.  Even on gun control, we’re roughly split:

What Outdoor Life left out was that Americans appear to be evenly divided regarding the much hotter issue of gun control: 44% of respondents said stricter laws are needed, while 44% said they’re not. The other 12% were unsure.

It’s the 12% of unsure people we need to reach.  Also, much of that 44% have no idea what the current gun laws are.  In my experience, people are more accepting of the status quo if they understand it. A lot of people honestly think machine guns are completely legal, and think those ought to be restricted. That’s more of the 44% than you might imagine.

Had to call Bitter tonight to come jump my car at work.  Our parking lot is at a slight incline, so I tried to get the car moving and pop the clutch, but it didn’t work.  Pushed the car back up, and tried a stronger running start this time, and I couldn’t quite get the clutch back out fast enough to let the engine turn.  No good.  Got the car jumped and driven home, turned the car off, tried to start it, and it was still dead. Took the battery out, then went to Wal-Mart to buy a new battery and turn in the old one. The process of having to turn in the old battery in order to buy a new one was confusing to the Wal-Martians, who first thought I meant to return a battery I had bought. It was too late for the automotive department to handle it. Installed it, and everything is fine after I tracked down the code for my car radio. The battery has been on its last leg for a while, and I knew it, so I can’t complain. It’s the original battery, and I’m at 105,000 miles on my ’04 Honda Element. It’s more than served its purpose.

This weekend we invited a friend who lives in Philadelphia to our air silhouette match, but unfortunately he doesn’t have an air gun. Actually, he can’t have an air gun because of Section 10-180, subsection 3 of the Philadelphia Code:

No person shall sell, offer for sale at retail, or use, or possess with intent to use, any air gun, spring gun, or any implement not a firearm which forcefully impels a pellet of any kind.

Worthwhile to note that statewide preemption does not apply to air guns, meaning if you take an air gun through Philadelphia, you’re liable for a 300 dollar fine and up to 90 days in jail, including the confiscation of the air gun.  In fact, the Uniform Firearms Act specifically allows local communities to regulate air guns, and many do. Pittsburgh doesn’t outright prohibit air guns, but does make it unlawful to discharge one at a home range if you had one set up in your basement.

But I think there’s a good argument to be made that the right to keep and bear arms necessarily has to include the right to practice with them, and for those living in more dense urban and suburban areas, an air gun might be the only viable means of regular practice. This is something Dave Kopel has alluded to previously. Once we get incorporation, Philadelphia’s law might be a good one to challenge, especially since the absurdity of being able to legally possess a fully-automatic M16 within the city limits, but being unable to buy or possess an air gun version of the same.

A Louisville barber is running a free gun promotion that some would assume to drum up business. But it appears he wants a little more from his customers than just a one-time haircut.

A customer at the Okolona barbershop will win a Romanian made AK-47. …

The more involved someone is with guns and gun rights, the more chances they have to win the $750 semi-automatic weapon.

“You get one ticket per customer. If you are an NRA member you get two. If you join the NRA you get six,” said Gooden.

Gooden said the promotion is not just about increasing business, though business is up.
“It’s not so much about the AK. It’s about the second amendment. That’s what I’m trying to do, raise awareness,” he said.

Apparently Gooden is a very outspoken supporter of our rights. The article says that his shop is decorated with hunting mounts and pro-gun hats. Good for Gooden.