… or perhaps a bad Fark meme. I wouldn’t go anywhere near this.
Category: Guns
TSA In Hot Water
Apparently Amtrak is none too pleased with a TSA stunt at a Savannah Train Station:
In late February, the Transportation Security Administration took over the Amtrak station in Savannah, Ga., and thoroughly searched every person who entered. None of the passengers got into trouble, but the TSA certainly did — big time.
Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of what the blog said, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.
I would imagine there would be Fourth Amendment implications as well. Imagine if they had done this at, say, Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. How many armed passengers are proceeding through that station on a daily basis? The status of Amtrak is actually a matter of dispute. In a First Amendment context, they are considered a government actor. But for the purposes of prohibiting firearms, they claim to be a private corporation and are thus can exclude people with firearms from their property, including their stations, as a matter of private property.
It’s probably a good idea if you’re carrying in an Amtrak station to leave if they ask you to. But I really wonder with what statutory authority TSA thought it was operating under. And could you be arrested for carrying a gun through their checkpoint, as you would be at an airport?
UPDATE: Hat tip to Ian Argent for the story.
Vote Nearing in House Judiciary on Castle Doctrine
From Rep. Bryan Cutler. After the knock down drag out fight we’ve waged to get this, this is speeding through the GOP legislature faster than I would have imagined last year. I think we’ll have Castle Doctrine before summer at this rate.
And remember, the Brady’s tried to tell everyone we lost the 2010 elections.
UPDATE from Bitter: And here’s the outcome:
Castle Doctrine passes out of committee with only 1 negative vote
Woo hoo. Now on to the Senate for more action this week.
Self-Defense in Canada
It still exists, even if you use a pistol:
For thousands of Canadians who fully comply with the country’s strict, convoluted firearms regulations, this is a familiar story. Police officers and the Crown routinely deter citizens from taking steps to protect themselves, by forcing them to justify lawful acts of self-defence. Edward Burlew, Mr. Thomson’s lawyer, believes that there is indeed a deliberate, if unstated, desire among Crown prosecutors to send a message that discharging a firearm, even as intruders attempt to burn down your home with you inside it, is not condoned by authorities.
It appears in this instance the Crown dropped charges because they knew they weren’t going to find a jury that would be willing to convict. Even so, the authorities can still make your lives miserable without even taking the case to trial. It would appear they are trying to harass people out of defending themselves, particularly with firearms.
40 Dems Could Care Less About Rule of Law
More than 40 House Democrats are calling on President Obama to approve new rules granting federal regulators more authority to crack down on gun trafficking to Mexico.
The request comes at an unfortunate time for the lawmakers, however, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has just launched a probe into reports that hundreds of guns were lost amid a federal sting designed to track firearms by letting known smugglers buy them with impunity.
Apparently 40 Democratic lawmakers don’t mind the fact that federal law prohibits what the ATF wants to do. They are perfectly fine with the Obama Administration assuming the powers of Congress, and changing the law as he sees fit.
Has Alan Gottlieb Bugged My Phone?
It was a few weeks ago, when we heard about Bloomberg taking gun control on the road, I mentioned to Bitter on the way home from work that a gun rights group ought to hire a billboard truck to follow Bloomberg’s around with a counter message. We even went so far as to suggest that SAF would be the ideal group to do this kind of thing.
Well, looks like that’s happening now. It’s an obvious countermeasure, so I’m glad to see them doing it. The second part of the idea was hiring two trucks just in case Bloomberg’s driver is good at losing a tail.
I also think SAF needs its own dirigible to fly over the skies of Manhattan, taunting Mayor Bloomberg. I’m mostly kidding about that one, but our movement could use an air force, don’t you think?
“Veto” the Second Amendment
A Mexican reporter asked Obama why he doesn’t just veto the Second Amendment. What’s surprising is the answer:
“Well, the Second Amendment in this country is part of our Constitution, and the president of the United States is bound by our Constitution. So I believe in the Second Amendment. It does provide for Americans the right to bear arms for their protection, for their safety, for hunting, for a wide range of uses. That does not mean that we cannot constrain gun-runners from shipping guns into Mexico. And so we believe that we can shape an enforcement strategy that slows the flow of guns into Mexico, while at the same time preserving our Constitution.â€
Has anyone trolled Monster.com lately to see if the Brady people have their resume’s out yet? I would if I were them. The writing is on the walls, folks. Not that I believe this issue is going away, but the form it’s going to take heading into the future will not be the Brady model.
Permits Up in Luzerne County
Joe Lasecki, owner of Nimrod Haven in Hanover Township, said he notices more people purchasing guns for protection, often first-time handgun buyers.
Lots of people keep saying it’s because the crime is up. Crime is actually been going down. Â I don’t think crime is the driver here, I think the driver is people believing things are going to get worse. Much worse. I’m not sure they are wrong.
CBS on Gunwalker Scandal
Next Castle Doctrine Moves
My goodness, it’s such a refreshing change to see a little action on our Castle Doctrine bill here. This week, we cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee hurdle. Next week, according to this update from Rep. Seth Grove, we’ll move it in the House.
HB 40 – Castle Doctrine has been sunshined for a a vote this Monday in the House Judiciary Committee! I am a proud cosponsor of this legislation and look forward to my colleagues of the Judiciary to pass it out of committee.
On the Senate side, we may also see a floor vote next week. Considering how many months we waited between hearings and votes last session, this is unbelievably fast. But, don’t let up. As we learned last year, there can be any number of unpleasant surprises waiting for us. Until Tom Corbett’s signature is dry, we should keep our eyes open.