Guns – Page 199 – Shall Not Be Questioned

October [Not] Surprises

Well, according to the press, the world is supposed to end tomorrow if the Republicans don’t just give in and allow Obama to have everything he has ever wanted in policy demands that pertain to the budget. In the meantime, here are some other news bits about what gun owners should know for October:

NRA-ILA reports that they have heard from various folks worrying about whether we’ll be able to buy guns if the government shuts down. Yes, NICS will continue to operate. So, if you hear these concerns, you now have somewhere to point folks to for an explanation.

Also on the October agenda, if you’re near Denver, this is another reminder to attend NRA’s Firearms Law & The Second Amendment Symposium on Saturday, October 12. You must pre-register, so get on it. They typically have very informative speakers, and it’s highly recommended. It’s free, and they give you food, so what’s not to like?

If you’re in Virginia, it’s now a great time to get involved with the elections if you haven’t been involved yet. Looking at the statewide ratings, you have A vs. F, AQ vs. D, and A vs. D choices this year. In other words, things are pretty clear on the gun issue.

Rifle OC: Fostering Bipartisanship

How much of this will go on before there is a bill, you think?

“I’m gonna go inside the state Capitol and see if I can educate a few people,” the man says in the video, only identified by his YouTube account name of “martinrps13.”

He walked into the east entrance lobby of the Capitol with an AR 15 rifle strapped across his chest, a handgun and a camera. The man walked right up to the security desk and told guards what he was doing.

I guess they got an education all right, but what was really accomplished here? This is also New Mexico, where open carry of pistols is culturally normal and accepted. In fact, they note:

A handgun in a holster, not a problem, but the gun guy’s visit had lawmakers in both parties thinking about changing the rules.

But now we’re looking at bipartisan consensus:

“I’m a strong supporter of the second amendment. And I’m also a member of the NRA, but I tell you there’s many buildings that you should not be able to carry a firearm into and one of them is the state Capitol,” Republican Sen. Carroll Leavell said.

“Unquestionably, I think we need to ban guns from the state Capitol, and anywhere there’s large numbers of individuals that gather for a very specific purpose,” Democratic Sen. Carlos Cisneros said.

Yes, bringing both parties together to support gun control. That was quite an education! We have enough trouble to deal with on a regular basis without having to worry we’ll need to turn people out to fight a gun ban that didn’t need to happen.

UPDATE: Here’s the video.

Sheriff’s Race in Delco

Those of you who live in my home county may want to take a look at your sheriff’s race. It’s not unusual to see platitudes like this parroted by politicians on both sides of the aisle:

I pledge to enforce all of the laws to guarantee that no one with a questionable background receives or renews a gun permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Keep in mind that Philadelphia routinely denies permits for the most unreasonable pretenses, such as having had a gun stolen, having unpaid parking tickets, or for having arrests for petty offenses years ago in people’s past, even if there was never any prosecution or conviction. Pennsylvania law allows sheriffs considerable discretion when it comes to denying a License to Carry. He needs to be asked to clarify this position. I’d also question what his position would be on signing off on NFA forms. It would be very helpful to know whether this is a platitude, or whether he wishes to make real changes to current policy in regards to LTCs and NFA sign-off.

UPDATE: There is no question, this Democratic candidate for sheriff is anti-gun.

If I am elected as your sheriff on Nov. 5, I will not issue any permits to any Pennsylvania resident who live outside Delaware County. In our society of gun violence, it is clear that a large majority of Americans want to see mandatory background checks at all sales of firearms. I believe the same majority want their county sheriff to be more responsible in issuing permits to those citizens who want to carry a concealed weapon.

That’s a dog whistle for implementing Philadelphia style abuse of the discretion to render Delaware County effectively may-issue. He also wants to see Philadelphia’s abuses continue. So will he continue to not issue if that becomes the law? Also, Bloomberg is sure to throw money into this race. Watch for that. He wants to own Pennsylvania, and his presumption that it might be ripe for the buying might not be wrong. I see a lot of evidence around that Pennsylvanians don’t really care enough about their gun rights to meet Bloomberg in ever backyard he’s digging in.

UPDATE: See Joe Sestak’s endorsement of him here.

Canada Hesitates on Signing ATT

Dave Hardy relays that they want to study the effect on Canadian gun owners, and notes “That seems to be more than the U.S. did before signing.” Yep. Sad isn’t it? Yeah, we love you too Barry.

The State of Carry Law

Given the recent dust-up over certain methods of open-carry activism, I thought it would be worthwhile about talking about where carry law stands, and what legal strategists are trying to accomplish. The next big case the Supreme Court takes is likely going to revolve around the “bear” portion of “keep and bear arms.” We want to get the broadest right possible, but there are complications.

The trouble we run into is that there are several state Supreme Courts have have upheld prohibitions on concealed carry, and many state Right to Keep and Bear Arms provisions specifically allow it to be prohibited or restricted. Now, in many of those instances, the reason that concealed carry was allowed to be prohibited is because open carry was allowed. Historically, in many parts of the country, particularly the South and Southwest, concealed carry was an alarming practice that made people think that the person practicing that carry method was sneaky and up to no good.

So in terms of going the other way, we also have to deal with the fact that a number of states with a strong gun culture either prohibit or restrict open carry. There’s also a long legal tradition in bearing arms that there’s no right to bear arms in a manner or way that’s intended or likely to cause alarm among the population. That number has been dropping, but it’s something that has to be dealt with from a legal point of view if you want to take this issue to court.

The way legal strategists are attempting to reconcile these two traditions is to argue that there is a right to bear, or carry firearms for self-defense, but that the state has an interest in regulating the means by which one may wear a firearm for the purposes of not disturbing or alarming the public. In this theory, states could prohibit either concealed or open carry, but had to allow it in some manner, and could only regulate it in a manner that’s consistent with serving the government’s interest (in other words, they couldn’t regulate in a manner meant to discourage people from carrying generally). This is less than ideal, but when dealing with a long tradition of regulating, rather than prohibiting carrying firearms, is something that has to be dealt with when this is put before judges. Something to think about in the current dust-up currently occurring with certain styles of open carry activism.

Another Case of Open Carry Activism Fail

How many kids, teachers, and school administrators were “educated” by this?

The district responded to the flood of complaints it received by revising its policy to require schools to go into immediate lockdown if somebody is openly carrying a gun nearby.

No state or city laws prevent the open carry of legal firearms in Hillsboro. Had the man been on school property, he wouldâ€™ve been arrested.

Surely the parents of the children are now much more supportive of guns in public and around schools as well. All it took was someone OCing a shotgun near the school to convince them! My favorite part of this?

It turns out, his mother is a teacher at Century High.Â He said she doesn’t know it was him carrying the gun, and that she’ll likely be upset when she finds out.

No word yet on whether he was grounded.

US Officially Signs UN Arms Treaty

Say it with me now: Elections have consequences.

While the chance of Senate ratification is effectively nil at this point, gun control supporters can still cheer the victory of the first step of the treaty process here in the US. It also makes Senate seats a much more desirable target for both treaty purposes and domestic gun control efforts.

We all knew this was coming as soon as the treaty was agreed to and Obama was re-elected. Now, we have to make sure that there’s never a chance for the Senate to ratify it. The Senate could take it up at any time, as it doesn’t have to be ratified in this administration once it has been initially signed. International gun control groups would be happy to wait us out.

Don’t Take Legal Advice From Bloggers

Both Thirdpower and John Richardson are speaking about an assertion that’s appeared in the blogosphere that Illinois is now a Constitutional Carry state. I’d take anything you hear on the Internet (and I don’t exempt myself from this) as pretty much the polar opposite of actual legal advice. In other words, don’t think because a blogger says you can do X, that means it’s OK to actually go out and do it.

I try very hard to get things right, but firearms law is complex, and I’ve made my share of mistakes over the years.Â Even if you read blogs run by lawyers, they may be attorneys, but they aren’t your attorney. Do your own research, consult with your own counsel, and go from there. Our goal is to try to educate, and not to offer advice on whether a certain action may or may not get you arrested. Remember there are precious few petty offenses and misdemeanors when it comes to gun violations, and too many armchair “experts” out there to rely on what you see on the Internet.

Screwed in Maryland

The regulations proposed by the State Police, which added back in items that were stripped out by the legislature, have been approved by a Senate committee.

Like many other legislative hearings on gun control this year, members of the NRA and other Second Amendment organization held a rally before the hearing, and attempted to pack the hearing room.

Unlike some of the hearings in February and March which attracted more than 1,000 people, todayâ€™s turnout only numbered a few hundred.

And that’s what the anti-gunners like to see. When only a few hundred of us show up to the hearings, that shows they are wearing us down. These regulations will make it next to impossible to exercise Second Amendment rights in places like Baltimore where there are no shooting ranges. But then again, that was the idea, wasn’t it?

Attention Virginians!

Terry McAuliffe will work for New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and not you:

Support common sense gun control measures
As Governor, Terry will support mainstream and majority supported gun control measures like universal background checks, limiting the size of magazines, and a return to the 1-gun-per-month rule. These measures respect Virginiansâ€™ right to bear arms while reducing gun violence.

I guess he didn’t learn anything from Colorado. I’ll give Bloomberg one thing, he’s pretty good at getting Democrats to step off the cliff. Bloomberg wants to show that the recall was a one off thing, and that a Democrat sporting Bloomberg’s positions on gun control can win in a purple state like Virginia.