It would have been nearly impossible politically for Harry Reid to have voted “no” on Kagan, but come on Harry, we’re not this stupid. You can put a bow on the turd, but that doesn’t make it smell any better.
Category: Guns
Carry Allowed
New Shooting Show on Versus
3-Gun Nation. Looks interesting. Sponsored by SureFire. Since I live in Comcast Hell, I don’t get the Outdoor Channel that has all Michael Bane’s stuff (warning, stuff will auto play) unless I buy the super-duper premium arm and leg package.
San Francisco Transit Authority Bans Depictions of Guns?
I’m not sure how the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency can ban depictions of guns in movie posters isn’t a violation of the First Amendment. Generally speaking, the restrictions allowed on commercial speech are greater than that on non-commercial speech, but I don’t believe this kind of restriction is permissible, in addition to being thoroughly ridiculous in terms of public policy. The Supreme Court created a test for commercial speech restrictions in the case of Central Hudson Gas & Electric v. Public Service Commission. Subsequent cases have not been so friendly toward restrictions on commercial speech, and given the expressive content in movie posters, it’s difficult to see how the SFMTA, which is a governmental agency, can justify their restriction. There have been other cases of this happening that have resulted in federal injunctions. The promotion company should really file suit and get an injunction against the SFMTA, rather than taking a poster like this, and turning into a mockery like this.
UPDATE: Bitter e-mailed Eugene Volokh, the real expert on these matters, because I wasn’t very sure about my position because of the fact that this is a transportation authority. His opinion is that is it unconstitutional, but for different reasons than I laid out.
UPDATE: After reading more closely, not really that different from what I thought. But I’m not that informed on the matter of public/non-public venues as Professor Volokh is.
Joyce Grants
John Richardson takes a close look at the Joyce Foundation’s giving this year. It seems to be pretty highly focused on shaping the media environment. I suspect Joyce realizes the loss of media interest in gun control over the past decade has been a real problem for the movement. Notice the 400,000 dollar grant to Media Matters, which will no doubt begin covering the gun issue. The other prong of their giving seems to be in the public health realm.
Joyce would seem to believe they are in “hearts and minds” territory, which is where we would like them to be.
Top Shot: Eliminated
Its there’s one person I’ve been pulling for in the Top Shot series, since fellow blogger Caleb was eliminated, it’s been Kelly Bachand. He’s very well rounded and a natural shooter, and just seemed to be like the kind of guy who could unexpectedly prevail. But this week, after sending yet another competitor home, he got to go first.
It turns out in this challenge, going first was the last thing anyone wanted to. I thought Kelly was setting the standard with a minute and a half, but that’s what got him eliminated, along with along with Adam. When you’re the last two people sitting on the bench, the last thing you want is to be betting on J.J. Racaza making a mistake. That didn’t happen. Tough breaks for Kelly and Adam, but that’s the way the bullet cuts the fuse I guess.
Contradictions
One of Joe’s cartoons got me thinking. Our opponents say we need special rules for guns in urban areas, because what works in Cheyenne doesn’t necessarily work in Chicago, or something like that (because everyone knows Cheyenne isn’t a real city, like the ones wealthy lefties live in). But yet when we pushed to get some very large tracts of rural areas opened up for firearms possession, we’re mocked, told we’ll shoot people, and invading their quiet sanctuaries with our gun nuttery. If our strategy is any gun, anywhere, any time, as our opponents suggest we’re struggling for, they are at least guilty of no gun, nowhere, none of the time.
Newest Additions to Righthaven Suits
7th Circuit Ruling on Felons
Yet another court has hinted that non-violent felons may be able to retain their Second Amendment rights. The Court ruled that as applied to Williams, who was a violent felon, was not unconstitutional, but said a non-violent felon might be able to prevail on 922(g)(1) being overly broad. What’s interesting to me is that Justice O’Conner was sitting on this panel by designation, and signed on to the unanimous opinion. It’s long been believed that O’Conner would have been a “no” vote on Heller had she not been replaced by Justice Alito upon her retirement from the Court. Her concurrence here is interesting, but offers little insight into how she would have voted on Heller, I think.
If you had told me …
… back in November of 2008 that in August of 2010, the head of the Brady Center would be upset with President Obama for parroting an NRA line of “better enforcement” I would have said you were nuts, but this is a strange world we live in. Things must be pretty gloomy at Brady HQ these days.
I will make a prediction that will cheer them up. Hillary is going to primary Barry in 2012. After the 2010 elections, she’ll be one of the first off this RMS Titanic of an Administration. She’ll write a book preaching about how incompetent this Administration has been, and sell herself as the savior of modern progressivism. She might even return the Brady’s phone calls. I’m pretty convinced if the GOP takes back the House, she’s going to set herself up to unseat Barry in the 2012 primary.