I did a post yesterday about how gun control bills in New York were having a hard time moving. Well, Microstamping just passed the New York Assembly, and is on its way to the Senate. The Senate has for a while been what’s stopped gun control bills from passing in New York State, as it remained under Republican control for a while. But now it’s hard to say whether that’s going to hold with the Democrats in charge.
Category: Guns
On Mental Illness and Gun Rights
Eugene Volokh notes some aspects of the revised United State Code, Section 922, which is a large part of our federal gun laws. This was revised by the NICS Improvement Act several years ago. As Eugene notes, it would seem that rights to people with mental health issues are automatically restored in the case of federal commitments, which are largely veterans under the care of the Veterans Administration. I point this out because this directly contradicts GOA’s ridiculous claims about this law, calling it the “Veterans Disarmament Act.” Maybe if they had actually read the bill, they would have understood what it did and did not do. But why bother with facts when you can get some good NRA hatin’ going? That’s good for GOA’s fundraising efforts, after all.
More on Michael Bellesiles’ “NRA Conspiracy”
From Jim Lindgren, who was one of the scholars who helped take Armed America down. He takes down the notion that NRA had anything to do with Bellesiles “swiftboating” with some cold hard facts.
After the Bellesiles affair was over, I asked a law professor who had in the past received funding from the NRA why the NRA was so savvy to stay out of it and let the academics handle it in the normal way. The answer I got is that the NRA wasn’t savvy so much as it is suspicious of academics, whom they neither understand nor trust. If the NRA pays for something, they want to control the message — and most academics won’t take money on that basis.
There is certainly truth to this, but I think it should be clarified that NRA does fund and has funded quite a bit of academic work by researchers. NRA is more wary of outsiders, I think, than academics. Trusting outsiders in politics is risky, and NRA is no exception when it comes to keeping it in the family.
But they probably take this a bit too far. Clayton Cramer has always struck me as the kind of guy who would be a valuable addition to the NRA family, yet I don’t really think NRA has made any attempt to reach out to him or try to work with him. It tends to work the other way, mostly, and I think that can be short sighted at times.
Crosman Enters the PCP Air Pistol Market
The one thing I can’t stand about Crosman air pistols is the trigger. The other thing I can’t stand is how poorly the CO2 is regulated. This product seems to fix at least one of those things. I’ll probably get one, just because they are so cheap. Unfortunately they are not so cheap that they can be used for IHMSA Production Class, but I’m of the opinion that the IHMSA governing body needs to consider upping the price for production class.
On The Road to Charlotte
We’re hurling down the Pennsylvania Turnpike, on our way to Charlotte. Been on the road since 5AM at this point. There some pretty good media coverage of the NRA Annual Meeting today in the media. First, Josh Sugarmann notes that NRA is getting in good with the Teabaggers and Militia whakos in Charlotte:
Palin’s appearance is only the most public example of growing links between the NRA and the Tea Party movement. The recently released Violence Policy Center (VPC) study Lessons Unlearned: The Gun Lobby and the Siren Song of Anti-Government Rhetoric details NRA marketing to Tea Party supporters and reveals links in nine states between NRA State Election Volunteer Coordinators, the Tea Party movement, and other factions of the “Patriot movement.” The study also offers examples of how the NRA is once again embracing and validating anti-government rhetoric.
What a sad, rage filled man Josh is these days. WBTV Charlotte notes that the convention will be the largest in the state’s history, and says, “The entire event is expected to pump $20 million into the local economy. Love it or hate it, the NRA is going to have a very large, very positive effect on businesses here.”
Huluq notes that there will be 400 vendors with their wares on display, and that “80 percent of those in attendance will be male.” I am happy to report that 33.3% of this car is female, so we’re helping balance that a little bit at least. The Charlotte Observer notes what the other side will be doing during the convention, and sadly it doesn’t seem like they will be protesting us.
“We don’t protest the right to own guns and gunowners,” [North Carolinians Against Gun Violence] said. “We work with them. This is simply another option for people who want to prevent gun violence.”
A shame, because we need someone to snicker at.
Pocono Record Fast Becoming Most Loathed Paper
Maybe it’s all the people moving there from New Jersey and New York, but the Pocono Record is fast becoming the most biased paper, with absolutely the worst reporting on guns of any paper in the state. They might as well work out of New York City for as awful as their attitude is towards the shooting sports and gun owners in general.
Take a look at this story about the State Game Commission opening a new range and closing an old one, which the Record turns into a story about terrorists training to use guns.
Making that Front Sight Sharp
This kind of technology could be really beneficial to competitive shooters. It helps focus the front sight without blurring the target. Some would probably argue it’s cheating.
We’re Winning: Campus Carry
The number of campuses that allow carry has doubled since Students for Concealed Carry on Campus got their activism on, and won a major victory in the Colorado courts. It’s really great work on the part of that organization. The Brady folks can claim all they want about how they are winning on this issue, but I think Daniel Crocker has found a great way to look at our progress.
Some Progress in New York
There’s a number of gun control bills in the New York Assembly that aren’t moving, as Jacob mentions, “In the past 18-19 years I’ve been following gun legislation I cannot recall ever seeing an antigun bill that was put on the Assembly Codes agenda fail to be moved out of Codes at that time.”
Gun control bills that never go anywhere are par for the course in most states, but we’ll take any signs of progress in New York as a positive development.
Do You Agree with NRA?
The Charlotte Observer is conducting a poll ahead of the NRA Annual Meeting. Obviously this is a scientifically rigorous poll, which it would be just terrible if all of you went and voted “Yes.” The Observer also notes that 70,000 people are expected for the meeting. So much for people being pissed about the venue.
We leave for Charlotte at 5AM tomorrow morning. It’s a ten hour drive from Philadelphia. Dan from PAFOA will be going down with us. We have to be there by 5:30PM for our first event. For those who might be going, we’re trying to organize a Foursquare Swarm at the Annual Meeting, so that NRA and the City of  Charlotte get its first swarm badge. I guess this means I need to sign up for Foursquare.