Les Jones reports on lead concerns in regards to allowing carry in National Parks. The bullets in my carry load contain no lead, but that’s another matter. If National Parks are really as safe as all the critics say they are, this is not really an issue. The number of discharges for self-defense should yearly, amount to less than a dozen. I’m sure there’s more lead in the paint on the walls of some buildings in National Parks than we’re talking about here. We’re talking about concealed carry here, not opening the parks up to random gunfire, though you’d imagine that’s what some think.
Category: Guns
Restaurant Carry in Virginia Update
Virginia Shooting Sports Assocation is reporting:
SB 1035 – Repeal of the Restaurant Ban for concealed carry. Reported with amendment (removed the requirement to notify a member of the restaurant staff that you are carrying concealed) 17-Y 5-N
That was silly to begin with, and I’m glad someone in the Virginia Senate realized it. You should never tell someone you’re carrying who’s not a law enforcement officer approaching you in an official capacity. Definitely not the host or hostess of a restaurant. People carrying a pistol with a license still are not permitted to drink alcohol under this rule, and no doubt critics will point out that this relies on the honor system. All concealed carry relies on the honor system, since the gun is, you know, concealed.
How Philadelphia’s Media Treats Guns
In a stark contrast to the last post from Central Pennsylvania, we have this bit of pant shitting hysterics from our local media market here in Philly:
It’s an unrelenting plague, and its agent of death is – guns.
And the horrifying fact is that more guns than ever are being purchased in this country as uneasy people arm themselves in fear: Fear of a reversal of gun rights under President Obama. Fear for their safety in an economy that drives people to desperation.
Sure, I know: many are legal guns, bought by responsible gun owners who don’t kill people, blah blah blah.
But my math is simple: The more guns in circulation, the more that find their way to the dregs of society who casually assassinate cops.
And there are more guns in circulation than ever.
I challenge Ms. Porter to look at the cop killer’s criminal record, and tell me the problem is with guns. This guy committed dozens of violations of this commonwealth’s gun laws, and didn’t receive so much as a slap on the wrist for it. You want to do an article that will make a difference, Ms. Porter? Talk about this. The problem is not guns, it’s a disastrously broken criminal justice system in Philadelphia. Jill Porter is doing the citizens of Philadelphia a disservice by focusing the blame on inaminate objects rather than the violent thugs that are being allowed to roam the streets with impunity.
Teen Shooting
I’ve always been happy the media in other parts of Pennsylvania are willing to cover the shooting sports in a positive light, like this article about a kid who is quickly becoming an accomplished sporting clay shooter:
A ninth-grader at Hershey High School, he’s ranked 25th in the nation in the sub-junior category of the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA). Sub-junior encompasses shooters ages 16 and under. Kisthardt added to his list of accomplishments by recently making the NSCA All-American team.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest this kid won’t be shooting up his high school anytime soon, like the media around here would probably be concerned about.
Yet Another Blue Trail Range Safety Study
I think by the time Blue Trail Shooting Range puts this nightmare behind them, it might well be one of the most studied range in the country. The town of Durham is now harassing them funding a new safety study of the range.
Blue Trail is the only public outdoor shooting range left in all of New England. It would be a shame for it to close.
Completed Pin Collection
I have finally completed my pin collection for Thursday night indoor metallic silhouette with rifle. I have gotten pigs and rams and chickens a few times over, come close to turkeys a few times, but last week finally got 10 of them:
I am starting my collection for pistol now, since I got ten chickens with the Ruger Mk.III Hunter 22/45 with a red dot sight on it. I’ve been pleased I’ve been able to improve this year on pistol, but my rifle game is kind of going nowhere. I attribute this to lack of practice. Last year when I started indoor silhouette, I managed to improve shooting rifle offhand with some extra practice. This year I just don’t have as much time, and I’m not really improving over the course of the season.
What helped improve the pistol shooting was two things, really.  One is when we learned a few things with Todd Jarrett this summer, he offered several suggestions for improving grip, and suggested gripping tighter. It wasn’t a complex suggestion, but it improved my pistol shooting dramatically. The grip advice transferred nicely from action shooting to silhouette shooting. The second is working on trigger control. This is the skill I find I lose the fastest if I don’t practice, or if I swich guns. Starting out tonight on pistol, I was jerking the trigger too much. I also really need to work on follow through. Air gun shooting is really useful for working on follow through, since it seems to be particularly important for air gun.
They Won’t Stop: Gun Rationing in New Jersey
As if their whacky permit-to-purchase scheme doesn’t ration enough, one-gun-a-month is back on the table in New Jersey, and it scheduled for a vote on Monday. Call your state senator now. Last time this came to a floor vote, action from gun owners in New Jersey managed to get it pulled from the agenda at the last minute. They did not have a majority to pass this.
It’s time to repeat what we did before.
Haven’t We Angered Bowhunters Enough?
I’m glad to see NRA backing away from a proposal to open up a firearms season in bow hunting counties in West Virginia. The crossbow issue seems to antagonize bow hunters in Pennsylvania enough as it is. Let’s not get people pissed at NRA next door too. Also, can we not insult the bow hunters as we’re trying to calm their fears?
When the NRA sent out its postcard poll, Austin said, the West Virginia Bowhunters Association “flipped and thought we were going to try to run a bill.â€
“That just shows they have no knowledge of the process and how it works,†he said.
“We were just in it to see if there was an interest. And there is no interest. We have no desire (to seek changes). We’re a membership-driven organization.
Emphasis mine. Even if it’s true, you don’t say it to the media. I sincerely hope that was a misquote on the part of the paper. It’s important to tread carefully on issues like this. They have the potential to divide our community at a very critical time for us politically.
Parking Lot Law Upheld in Oklahoma
I do not agree with NRA on the parking lot issue. I will just state that categorically. But this is a welcome victory. Why?
The challenge to Oklahoma’s bill presented some serious risks to gun owners, in that it was argued that the Occupational Safety and Health Act, through the Supremacy Clause of the constitution, really mandated a federal ban on firearms in the workplace, which state law could not contravene. If this outlook had prevailed, it employers would presumably be obligated under federal law to ban firearms in the workplace.
So I am very glad this line of reasoning was shot down by the courts. But there’s still a problem:
“We disagree,” the appellate judges wrote in a 23-page decision. “OSHA is aware of the controversy surrounding firearms in the workplace and has consciously decided not to adopt a standard” banning firearms from the workplace.
What if OSHA did adopt a standard because a certain President directed them to? In addition to disagreeing with the NRA on principle on this issue, I also just don’t like the politics of this issue, and this is one of the reasons why.
Engel Letter Tied to the Mexican Issue
The Modesto Bee doing the heavy lifting:
On Tuesday, federal police fighting gunmen in the northern border city of Reynosa had to call the army for help. After the fighting, which left five gunmen dead and seven police injured, authorities seized several assault rifles and even a 60 mm mortar.
In a recent report, the federal Attorney General’s Office said Mexican authorities have seized the most weapons from the Gulf drug cartel and its gang of hit men, known as the “Zetas.” Members of the cartel have been found with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and weapons capable of piercing armor.
Yeah, because if we don’t stop these 60mm mortar parts kits, and the RPG-7 parts kits, from coming into the United States, Mexico is doomed. Do any of these journalist even bother to check what the law is?