Looks like Mark Fiorino has settled with the City of Philadelphia for $25,000. They will retrain their officers on the legalities of open carry. Hopefully this settlement will convince the city it doesn’t want any more cases like this.
Category: Guns
Evidence?
You see less of this from the media these days, but it’s still happening sometimes:
Better gun laws are not the only solution, but they are a big part of the answer. The sooner Americans understand that a nation where almost anyone can get his hands on a Soviet assault rifle is a nation where no one is safe, the better our chances of fixing the problem will be.
What evidence do they have that more gun laws are a big part of the answer? They don’t have any evidence. It just feels right to them, so it must be so. Pretty clearly the editorial board of the Toledo Blade that “almost anyone” can’t, in fact, get access to a Soviet era assault rifle. Those have been banned from importation since 1968.
Getting Rid of PICS
Looks like a bill might finally be introduced, but some have issues, needless to say:
But firearm foes say that the state database includes records that the federal database doesn’t, such as protection-from-abuse orders and 580,000 mental-health records that would prohibit gun ownership. They say that a mere federal check could allow violent or mentally ill people to buy guns, opening the door to such calamities as the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings or the 2011 attempt to kill former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Um, if they can go next door and buy a shotgun or rifle, shouldn’t it be a concern to gun control supporters that there are 580,000 mental health records that Pennsylvania is keeping to itself? It seems to me the solution here isn’t keeping PICS, it’s making sure those records end up in the federal system.
Further, PICS isn’t as inefficient as Krieger claims, Henry said. The state database was operational for 510,000 hours last year, yet experienced problems for just 69.9 hours, or 1.4 percent of the time, Henry said. He said that his bureau plans to add new technology that should erase such outages.
As an IT professional, I’d be utterly embarrassed at 69.9 hours of downtime a year. For a 24/7/365 operation, 99.97 is about what I’d consider to be the minimal target. It’s not hard to go beyond that either. The state is getting 99.20% uptime, if the 69.9 hours is correct, rather than the 1.4% number (which represents 122.6 hours a year, and would be totally unacceptable for that type of operation. 1.4% downtime and it’s time to fire the IT staff).
Of course, the real reason the powers that be will oppose trashing PICS and going with the federal system is because it’ll make it harder for the Pennsylvania State Police to maintain their registry of firearms that should be in violation of state law, but have gotten around by claiming in court that it’s a record of sale, which isn’t a registry. Unfortunately the courts have agreed with this. It’d be nice if the bill could fix the definition of “registry” in state law, so the courts don’t have a lot of weasel room.
UPDATE: A reader points out that PICS is not a 24/7 operation, and they are down outside of business hours. That means the 1.4% is correct, and that’s just pathetic. That’s fire the IT staff time.
I-GOLD 2012 March
I wish gun owners in Pennsylvania could get this fired up:
I dare say, we can probably thank Mayor Rahm for the success of this year’s Illinois Gun Owners Action Day. It must pain our opponents on this issue to see the pro-gun-rights side make such an effective use of their own tactics.
I think a big difference is that I-GOLD is organized by the grassroots. The Pennsylvania event has always struck me as a political rally. It’s not a bad idea, but the politicians need to be reminded of who we expect them to serve. Not the other way around.
Another Opinion Favoring the Right to Carry
Another interesting opinion coming out of the 4th circuit, which recognizes a right to carry, while upholding a prohibition on carrying on behalf of a felon who employes you. I think this is great constitutional news, since we have yet another court saying there is a right to carry. But I had never really considered this language in 922(h). If you work for a large corporation, then you’re employed by the corporation rather than a person. But what if you’re employed by a person who was convicted of insider trading? Could you be prosecuted for carrying a firearm to work for self-protection? Or is that possession not considered in the course of employment?
Tab Clearing
Time to clean out the old tabs again. I’ve been using a lot of what I’ve come across lately, since I haven’t had as much time to keep up with blogs, not as much builds up in the tabs:
Good news for people in Milwaukee. Homicide is down, but that’s only because criminals are becoming lousier shots.
Constitutional Carry is on the table currently in twelve states. South Dakota has a bill on the Governor’s desk, but he has not yet signed it.
Emily Miller reports on DC City Council passing an easement of the gun laws there.
Dave Hardy talks about some old memories in regards to the fight over the Firearms Owners Protection Act’s passage.
Outdoor life runs an article on pigeon shooting, or more accurately, pigeon hunting. Apparently these shooters eat most of what they kill. I can’t say I find the thought of eating a pigeon very appetizing, but I’m more familiar with the flying rats that inhabit urban areas.
Since our opponents are always quick to demand this answer after a tragedy, the Ruger Mk.III target pistol used by the mass murdering teenager in Ohio was originally purchased at Gander Mountain. This was before the little murderer started criminal life by becoming a thief. I will not mention the little monster’s name here on this blog, and wonder if the media adopted my tactic, the idea of becoming notorious might not be so appealing to other off-balance teens.
Joe Huffman thinks it’s time for California gun owners to come out of the closet. I think that’s always a good policy, since if everyone knows someone who’s a gun owner that they think are normal, that prevents a key tactic of our opponents from working.
9 Ways Gun Owners Can Lose the 2012 Election. I’m there on 1-7, but 8 and 9 are a bit of a reach.
A couple of good articles over at Shooting Illustrated from people you may know.
“Armed Doctor Helps Others Flee”
Fordham Law has a pretty good seminar lined up this Friday. If you’re in or around New York City and have the time, you could go. I’d be tempted to go if I found out about it sooner.
More on Guns Sales
“I process the concealed weapons permits,” said Sgt. Paul Edwards of the Bangor Police Department. “And I’ve seen a lot of new ones, so just for me without really going in there and being able to start or finish at any set point to be able to determine if we have more, it just seems to me that there are more people, and even young people and older people it’s right straight through, seem to be getting new permits.”
And yet our opponents continue to deny this phenomena is real.
Museum Gun Show
This Sunday, in Lancaster, there’s going to be a gun exhibit on display “The Golden Age of an American Art Form: The Lancaster Long Rifle.” It’s going to be a yearlong exhibit. You can follow through for a slide show of pictures. I may have to go see this.
Hungary for a Win
Hungary is loosening some of it’s gun laws, namely making permits last a lifetime, and simplifying the process for purchasing a firearm.
Missing the Target at the Courier Times
I don’t subscribe to the local county news rag, largely because I resent poorly argued political advocacy being sold to me as news, and because newspapers are about as relevant to me as giant tube televisions. This editorial from the Bucks County Courier Times represents why I do not and will never subscribe. Since everyone is so concerned about taxpayers footing the bill for the intransigence of towns who fly in the face of preemption, I have a suggestion. Why don’t we make the politicians themselves responsible for their votes? If you vote yes on a bill that’s found to violate Pennsylvania’s preemption law, you can be sued personally in court and found liable. That way it’s off the backs of the taxpayers. Sound fair?
The very easy solution to this problem is for towns not to violate state law by passing gun control laws. Firearm ownership is protected by the Pennsylvania constitution, and is a matter of statewide concern. The General Assembly has wisely forbidden towns from regulating the lawful use of firearms. That prohibition is meaningless is there’s no way to enforce it.
BTW, how much do you want to bet this editorial came straight from Bloomberg’s office, and was dutifully reproduced by the stooges on the editorial board of the Times?