Mayors Against Illegal Guns is calling on the Obama Administration to push for a 40 point “reform” on federal gun control laws. Notice MAIG still claims 450 members, even though we dropped them to under 400. I will endeavor to find you all a copy of these “recommendations.” It’s very interesting that MAIG isn’t publishing them on their web site.
Category: Guns
Keep Up the Pressure
The Pocono Record has run another glowing op-ed on Mayor Baughman of Stroudsburg, praising his membership in Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
Tunnel vision gun owners, spurred by the powerful National Rifle Association, have been sending hostile messages to Baughman urging him to resign from MAIG. The NRA and groups like it hold tremendous sway over gun owners and elected officials.
Hear that? You have tunnel vision. You’re too stupid to think for yourself, according to The Record. They, of course, can see the big picture. But they wouldn’t be running this op-ed, once again today, if Baughman wasn’t continuing to be pressured by his constituents. Hopefully we can keep it up and get him to leave MAIG.
A Good Day at the Gun Show
There was a gun show in Lebanon, PA today, not too far from where my dad lives, so we decided to go. I was looking for .22LR, small rifle primers, and if the hunting was good, an AR-15 lower receiver. I like a show where I can find everything I’m looking for. Picked up two bricks of 22, which should keep us shooting for a few months. Same vendor had small rifle primers. I also picked up this:
It will eventually become the lower to fit the 6.8 SPC upper I have which has never had its own lower. I had to fill out the Pennsylvania State Police form that is normally reserved for pistols. A few months ago the PSP made a determination that because a lower can be made into a pistol, it’s a pistol, and is subject to the record of sale requirements, meaning it’s in the State Police registry. Even if I make it into a rifle, does this mean that I can’t transfer it without going through an FFL? Does it mean I need an LTC to carry it? Personally, I don’t think the State Police have any statutory authority to make this requirement at all, if you look at the UFA definition of a “firearm”:
“Firearm.” Any pistol or revolver with a barrel length less than 15 inches, any shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches or any rifle with a barrel length less than 16 inches, or any pistol, revolver, rifle or shotgun with an overall length of less than 26 inches. The barrel length of a firearm shall be determined by measuring from the muzzle of the barrel to the face of the closed action, bolt or cylinder, whichever is applicable.
Except in its form, it’s not a pistol, rifle, revolver or shotgun, because it has no barrel. My assertion is that it is a “firearm” under the actual definition, which subjects it to the PICS check, but is not a “firearm” under the UFA definition, which subjects it to the reporting requirement, and requires an LTC to carry. For some reason, the PSP changed their mind. Probably because we have an anti-gun PSP commissioner, appointed by our anti-gun governor.
Worst Editorial on McDonald So Far
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which still does not explicitly call for the Supreme Court to deny incorporation, though I get the impression the editorial board for the Gazette are lightweights when it comes to constitutional laws. They are definitely unhappy about the current state of affairs with regards to gun control.
Women and Guns in India
His daughter was hiding under a bed when she heard him crying as the gunmen thrashed him with sticks. According to police, she ran towards her father’s attacker and struck him with an axe. As he collapsed, she snatched his AK47 and shot him dead.
She also shot and wounded another militant as he made his escape.
Police have hailed the woman’s bravery.
They said she would be nominated for the president’s gallantry award.
And good show on the part of the police for praising her behavior. Here they would have had to publicly say what a bad idea it is to fight back, and how such things can easily turn against the defender.
WaPo Speaking Like It’s a Done Deal
Even the Washington Post is conceding the likelihood of the Chicago handgun ban defeated.
Given how the Constitution has evolved, lawyers from both the left and right of the political spectrum will present strong arguments that the Second Amendment applies to state and local government, just as the First Amendment does. It would seem at least incongruous — and may ultimately be legally indefensible — for residents of the District to enjoy constitutional rights that are withheld from people in Chicago or other parts of the country.
In fact, I’ve had a hard time finding newspaper op-eds that call for the Supreme Court to refuse to incorporate the Second Amendment. Â Two Chicago Tribune columnists, here, and here, both think the result is going to be a victory for the Second Amendment, and don’t call for the Supreme Court to rule the other way.
The media is surrendering on this issue. The Brady Campaign are surrendering on this issue, at least publicly. I think we will have incorporation, and then we will begin to define the boundaries of the Second Amendment. That’s where the real fight is, but in no future case will the stakes be as high as they were with Heller, and now McDonald.
Time to Renew FFL
It’s time to renew my C&R FFL with ATF. Best 30 dollars I ever spent, even if only to qualify for the dealer discount at Midway and Brownells. But it’s nice being able to get guns delivered to your door, which I’ve done a few times in the three years I’ve had the license. Actually, they don’t really come to your door unless your home, since almost all of them come adult signature required, requiring a trip down to the local UPS depot to pick up. One time I did come home to find an overnight package in the door, with a nice pistol inside it. I was relatively appalled they sent that standard overnight rather than requiring a signature. Didn’t deal with that vendor again.
Minimum Age to Carry
Dusting came up with a handy map. Â New Hampshire and Alaska are is 16? Â I didn’t know that. Â Gang ridden crime havens those two states are. Â I also didn’t know MD and DE were 18, even though you can’t get a license to carry in Maryland. But Delaware does issue CCDW permits, but since it’s may-issue I don’t know if they’d actually issue to an 18 year old.
The Heller Pessimism is Back
With the Supreme Court ready to hear the next case in what’s going to be a long stream of Second Amendment litigation, the pessimists are coming back again.  Both here in my comments and at SayUncle. I can’t say I really understand it, and still stand by Heller being a significant victory.
One of the things I’ve noticed about gun owners is that there’s a certain characteristic about many that make them revel in victim hood. To some degree, I can understand this, because for a large part of the last century, we spent it on the defensive, and there have been a lot of cultural changes in the country that many gun owners haven’t been happy with. But I don’t think that’s a reason for continuing pessimism and victim hood.
Are we going to get machine guns down at the corner hardware store for all? Probably not without a titanic shift in public opinion on the matter. But we can probably get a pretty broad Second Amendment right. There is no constitutional right that is absolute. Not having any restrictions at all on guns was never in the realm of possibility. But if you had told me at the beginning of this decade that the Supreme Court, out of the gate, would throw out a safe storage law, and that DC’s handgun ban would be history, I would have said you were nuts. If you had told me Chicago’s handgun ban would be in serious jeopardy by the end of the decade, I would have said you were a wild eyed, cheery optimist. But that is now the reality we live in.
It would have been nice if the Supreme Court had just ruled “It’s an individual right suckas, and for the states too! Machine guns for everyone!” but that wasn’t even going to happen. What did happen was pretty good, and better than I would have imagined was possible. It’s time for gun owners to stop wallowing in the victim hood mentality. It accomplishes nothing except disabling us from pursuing further victory. You’re declaring defeat before we’ve even begun this stage in the fight. Heller offers us a lot we can use to expand Second Amendment rights. Far more than it offers the other side. That the other side would grasp on to the few morsels that were left in there for them is understandable and predictable. But we won that day. They didn’t. They know that too, but can’t admit that much in public. I think we will win the day again. We’re not victims anymore. We’re winning our rights back.
Rotating Carry Ammo
Justin throws a post into the ring on the hand load carry round question, and talks about rotating ammo:
Here’s where I air my dirty laundry: I’m a dunderhead when it comes to picking carry ammo. It’s just not something that I dwell on. I don’t even rotate it out every 6-12 months. I’ve carried with factory ammo that’s over 4 years old. I buy some, run a few magazines through the gun and if it works, which it always has, I’ll keep it around far longer than any gunny would think proper.
I have tended to rotate my ammo every six months to a year, but mostly just because it seemed like good practice. Ammo does last a long time, on the shelf. But carry ammo is not ammo that’s sitting in a safe or a foot locker, in its factory container, often sealed. You’re carrying it around with you. You sweat, you extrude oils, salts and various proteins, which get on the ammo when you handle it, and are on the dust particles your skin and clothes give off and end up in your gun. Every time you chamber and unload, you’re putting stress on the ammunition components.
Now, I will say, I’ve never had a round misfire or jam in my gun, even when I’ve shot carry ammo I’ve carried for a year, and then had in my foot locker for two more. So I don’t think the folks who said they don’t rotate are risking that much. But there’s another reason I’ve always thought rotating was a good idea. Â When you run your 20 or 50 rounds of carry ammo through it gives you a good idea that your gun and magazine will still feed it reliably. A good rule of thumb is that you should run a hundred or so rounds of carry ammo through your gun before relying on it. I will admit that I have not always been good about doing that, but I also carry a common gun and carry common loads, so I’m pretty confident any feeding problems a Glock 19 has with any common carry load are well known. But I still think it’s a good idea to dump a few full magazines every now and then of your carry ammo just to check everything out.