Category: Weekly Gun News

It’s been a few weeks since I did a gun news post. Weekly is just an indicator that it’s not monthly. It doesn’t mean I have to do one every week, right? Unfortunately I got a call from my cousin informing me that my Uncle had passed away quite unexpectedly during the night. In truth I was raised calling them Aunt and Uncle but they are not blood relations. He was my dad’s best friend from childhood. But other than my own father, he probably had more impact on who I am today than any other male figure in my life. I did not grow up in a gun owning family. He is the reason I took up shooting and the gun rights cause. If he had not been the influence on my life that he was, none of you would be reading this blog. So things might be a bit scarce this week.

Police departments can either pay for their officers to have decent training, or they can pay that money out in settlements.

Cert has been denied in the case of Sessions v. Binderup, which leaves the 3rd circuit decision standing.

I have to agree with Miguel on this one… Everytown is reaching. NRA doesn’t comment on a lot of things, and they aren’t obligated to respond to every single person who is ever shot. I do think NRA missed an opportunity to show they don’t just care about OFWGs, but this is ridiculous. Somehow I believe Shannon Watts is behind this one.

Looks like CNMI is looking to reinstate its handgun ban, despite Heller. And why not? Heller has been effectively rendered meaningless by the lower courts.

Some sneakiness going on in Indiana. Seems you can’t carry in buildings with courtrooms in them, so some local communities are claiming there are court rooms in municipal buildings.

John Feinblatt of Everytown: “In the wake of Scalise shooting, gun control couldn’t be more urgent.”

Over at Reason: “Why Did a Conservative Judge Uphold an Assault Weapons Ban?” Judicial minimalism are judges abrogating their responsibility to the Constitution and the people. It forwards this silly notion that the silly people we elect and send to Washington somehow so represent that who needs any kind of pesky constitution? It’s time for the dinosaurs who practice this travesty retire from the court.

There are a lot of things about this NRA Carry Guard offering that seem poorly considered.

WaPo: “These GOP lawmakers are pushing for more gun rights after baseball shooting”

Delaware has been living on borrowed time for a while. But probably not as much borrowed time as New Jersey if it gets a Dem governor in 2018. You can definitely forget about pardons if that happens.

On the other hand, this proposal in Delaware seems worthwhile, even if it falls short of actual shall-issue.

Dave Kopel: “Bad police training may have killed Philando Castile.”

More Dave Kopel: “The Hearing Protection Act and ‘silencers’”

Training Scars: Brass in Pockets.

NJ Supreme Court says you can answer the door with a defensive weapon. More here.

Well, well. It looks like Shannon Watts might be running for office after all. I didn’t know Polis had ambitions to be Governor. She better be better at campaigning than she is at running MDA if she wants to have a shot.

Concealed Carry as a Martial Art.

 

I know it’s been quite some time before we had a news links post. Things are just slow. Not that I’m complaining. No sir. Bad things happen when I complain. But lets see how clean I can get my tabs:

I’d note this dude is writing a book about his indoctrination into America’s gun culture, yet he admits in this article he’s not a gun owner. If you want to write a book on gun culture, maybe you should treat it as something more than an anthropological study, like we’re some kind of remote tribe in Papua New Guinea that’s never seen Europeans before.

I think this is a fairer coverage of NRA Annual Meeting from someone who is pretty clearly left of center.

NSSF responds to that latest lead study I linked to a few weeks ago.

NRA and CRPA are suing California over their newest ban on “assault weapons.” Even if changes to the Supreme Court are coming, it takes a long time for a case to make its way up.

Not coincidentally, the California DOJ has finalized the regulations surrounding their new ban on “assault weapons.”

San Francisco is suing magazine seller who don’t make it clear you can’t ship to California.

John Lott: Murder isn’t a nationwide problem.

Looks like I’m not alone in having anti-gun relatives.

Bearing Arms: “Progressive Rapper Explains Why he is a Gun Owner, NRA Member”

Not gun related, but good news: “Court strikes down rule forcing toy drone users to register with govt”

Mark Warner comes out against concealed carry reciprocity.

April gun sales were still pretty strong, which goes against the media narrative of a severe slump in gun sales. I’ve been shooting more again, given that prices have come down. So clearly there has been some cooling. I did not stockpile during the Obama years, and even I’m still shooting off the stock I bought years ago.

“Why Do Gun Haters Want Shooters To Lose Their Hearing?” I think we know the answer to that. Suppressors have started showing up at my club. A suppressed AR-15 is still too loud to shoot without hearing protection under a covered shooting line. But you can get away with much less hearing protection!

Inside Manhattan’s Lone Gun Range.

Bloomberg is engaging professional lobbyists. I’ve seen rhetoric turned up too, which is making me wonder if the Hearing Protection Act and/or National Reciprocity will be moving soon.

“Daily newspaper columnist who defended NRA quits after suspension.“

Do I dare try to see if I have enough links? I dare!

Bloomberg has apparently spent $135 million dollars so far on gun control. So far, he’s made Washington worse, barely eked out a victory in Nevada that turned out to not be much of a victory, and was outright defeated in Maine. I agree with Jacob: not much to show for it. Money can buy a lot in politics, but not everything. Still, $135 million is chump change to Bloomberg.

Anti-gun journalist who has written on the topic for years finally decides it might be time to actually meet a gun owner. Familiarity is the foundation for winning for our issue. People with at least some familiarity are harder to bullshit.

Apparently there are a baker’s dozen law professors who want to argue a theory of negligent entrustment that would make it negligent entrustment to sell AR-15 to citizens at all. You could use the same theory to sue super car makers out of existence. After all, who but a professional driver is qualified to drive a Lamborghini? Welding torches: really for professionals, aren’t they? I used to read a lot more legal writing until I realized a lot of people who do legal writing are brain dead.

Tam: “At what point do you ignore your ego and admit maybe you might could take some lessons?”

My impression has always been that Shannon Watts just honestly isn’t very impressive. Seems I’m not the only one. I don’t mean that in the sense that I disagree with her, but she’s not really very good at what she does. That’s a sharp contrast to Bloomberg, who I think has done a lot of smart things, even though I disagree with what he’s doing and wish he’d find better things to do with his money. That probably makes me sexist somehow.

There’s a bill in Pennsylvania to allow school officials to be armed. Josh Prince notes some issues with it. I’d note that it doesn’t seem to muck with the “other lawful purposes” language, just creates an explicit means for school personnel.

The bill to enhance our preemption law continues to move forward in Pennsylvania. Though, I fully expect Wolf will veto it.

This weekend was the March for Science. Making science a partisan issue is a mistake, especially given that scientific ignorance is not specific to a single political leaning. This is more people getting together to congratulate each other for their shit not stinking.

I spent Sunday at the range playing around with this scope clamp, for science! It’s just about as good as having a person spotting for you, since you can instant replay your shots. This is at 200 yards. My PSL was whacking the right-top corner of the plate. My spotting scope is a cheap Bushnell model. Nothing high end.

There hasn’t been quite enough news to get these out every week. But here goes:

You know all the stories about gun sales tanking post Trump? Fake News.

Also, you know the story about how the NRA was never political before the 1977 Cincinnati Revolt? Fake News.

We seem to have a bad track record with these reality TV gun shows.

YouTube is choking the ad revenue out of gun related channels. Google is turning out to be far more evil than Microsoft ever was. Microsoft just wanted to preserve its monopoly. It crushed competitors, not political dissent, and not subcultures. Of course, maybe getting us away from doing this to make money would be a good thing: “The difference between the social media folks and bloggers is the latter owned their content and delivery system. The social media types don’t own and are dependent on the delivery system someone else owns. And it’s their house and their rules.”

More along those lines here.

This might have something to do with trying to stamp out the gun culture via institutions the left controls.

The Federalist: “How The Fourth Circuit’s Support For ‘Assault Weapon’ Bans May End Them” I see a lot of this stuff in Right media. Repeat after me: Gorsuch doesn’t change anything. This was a holding action at best. Whoever is the weak link in the Heller majority is still on the Court.

Everytown and Moms Demand keep floating the figure that ordinary Americans support the permitting system. Well, if you asked me that, I’d think “No” meaning “No, I don’t think people should be able to get licenses to carry concealed firearms,” rather than “No” meaning “I don’t think people should be required to get licenses to carry in order to carry firearms, concealed or otherwise.” I’ve never seen one of their polls that asks the question the right way.

Tam on training and preparedness.

Seriously, I don’t get people who turn themselves in after discovering they got past TSA with a gun. The cops don’t care that you’re good person, or that you did the “right thing” in coming forward. All you’re doing is confessing to a crime. It’s amazing to me this day in age people still believe this kind of fairy tale. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, you’re not going to hold up or hijack the plane are you? No? Then keep your mouth shut, count your blessings, and be more careful next time.

Mike Kelly is throwing his name out there to run against Casey.

Can you believe this is in Slate: “The Second Amendment vs. the Fourth Amendment.“

Been under the weather this week. Nasty chest cold set in last weekend, and the crud is still clearing out. Speaking of clearing out, time to clear out the tabs:

A four year old found a .22 shell casing and took it to school. Got suspended for 7 days.

Court to Chicago: quit dragging your feet on Ezell. The 7th Circuit has been one of the better circuits on gun rights. I don’t think that’s a case of natural inclination, so much as the 7th got overturned in McDonald. Judges don’t like being overturned. We need to overturn some others.

Gun clubs are banning police from using their range in… New Zealand. Reason? The cops were harassing legal gun owners.

NRA is dropping a lot of money to ensure Gorsuch’s confirmation.

Charles C.W. Cooke: “Another Federal Court of Appeals Attacks the Second Amendment.”

Gun sales up. Accidents way down.

You’ll be able to take your firearm more places in Arkansas.

Constitutional Carry on the move in South Carolina. Good. Their reciprocity is awful.

Nevada moving to ban guns in libraries. Why libraries? Why do I have a feeling this is coming about because some of our open carry friends decided to try to educate some library patrons?

Eliminating the “character and reputation” clause in Pennsylvania’s LTC qualifications. This has been the mechanism that hostile jurisdictions have used to deny people LTCs for parking tickets.

Question and Answer: “Why are guns a right in the US while health care is not.”

No guns for vets, you see, because CSGV cares so much about our veterans. It’s not that they hate people owning guns. No… not at all. Where do veterans groups stand on this? Oh yeah. Not with them.

If we have a favorable ruling from the 3rd Circuit on either one of the pending 302 commitment cases, it will help New Jersey as well as Pennsylvania.

Utah is looking to lower its DUI level to 0.05, which is basically have a beer with dinner and go to jail if you’re not a big person. Gun rights groups are fighting as well, because it will lower the threshold for carrying too.

Clayton Cramer: why public opinions surveys should be taken with a large bag of salt. Public opinion surveys tell you want people want to tell pollsters.

Pocket pistol practice doesn’t have to be punishment.

3D printed grenade launcher.

Fake news.

Spring is coming: “20 Hikes in Pennsylvania Everyone Should Take.” I’ve done a few of these.

Thanks for all the advice on club membership solutions, in the last post. I think it’s about time to clean out the old tabs. Hopefully some of them are gun news that can be used, rather than work stuff I just left open. Here goes:

Sheriffs have been a great asset in fighting Bloomberg. You know what most Sheriffs are? Elected. I think all CLEOs should be elected offices. Also, from New Mexico: Bloomberg pulling out all the stops to get gun control passed in New Mexico. This is probably a prelude to a ballot measure.

John Lott: France had more public mass shooting casualties in 2015 than the US suffered during Obama’s entire presidency.

Pennsylvania is looking to ban Ivory. This amounts to a ban on guns that have ivory grips or ivory in the furniture.

Speaking of cops and gun control, gun control advocates are pushing for the cops to adopt smart guns. Might as well push for them to adopt phasers. The cops have already spelled out what they want from a Smart Gun, and it’s science fiction.

CeaseFire PA is having a forum on March 1st in Abington. It’s publicly advertised and it doesn’t say it’s only open to anti gun folks. They keep claiming to want a conversation, so maybe we should give them one.

Who could have predicted? The powers that be in California are angry that people have figured out how to comply with the law. I believe California’s next move will be to ban semi-automatic rifles entirely.

It all depends on how you ask the question: Everytown pays for polls to try to sink pro-gun bills in Florida. By now most politicians know that polling on this issue is generally #FakeNews.

“Gun control advocates try to keep pressure on, despite legislative losses.”

Good News, because most gun control has been and still currently is aimed at disarming them: “African-American gun club says membership surged in Trump era.”

More along those lines: “Why Black Gun Ownership Is Seeing Explosive Growth In Donald Trump’s America.” I don’t see why it’s such a surprise that Black Americans would act like other Americans in the face of insecurity and uncertainty.

Maybe this is a sign that I’m too fat these days, but I have to agree with Miguel that this line of argument annoys me. If I could carry something the size of a gun that could very successfully help me survive a coronary, I would. But AED’s are a bit heavy, and you need someone to set it up.

Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Ownership is a very sad panda. Rather than defend the Obama Social Security Disability Gun Ban, he resorts to attacking the NRA for being mean to the mentally ill.

NBC ran a segment on Ghost Guns that’s pretty much #FakeNews.

Kim DuToit is back blogging. I’d say welcome back to the party, but not much of a party going on with gun blogging these days as compared to when Kim used to blog. Someone today introduced a post of mine as by “long time blogger.” Well, shit, I guess I am at this point. How did that happen?

At first I figured this was parody, but now I’m not so sure. The reason to use black targets is, I don’t know, because it contrasts sharply with the light shining through the bullet holes? I’m pretty sure most of those artsy targets won’t show bullet holes very well.

Hunters are their own worst enemies. Seriously.

Seattle’s Gun and Ammunition Tax doesn’t seem to be raising a lot of money. It was never intended to.

Editorials like this from the Philadelphia Inquirer aren’t even worth linking anymore. This basically boils down to “Philly’s a shithole, so something must be done. Gun control is something, so therefore it must be done!” Sorry, Philly, you’ve been playing this game as long as I’ve been involved in the issue. You’ve even been given more gun control laws to use, and you have never bothered.

A new kind of non-brass shell casing? Looks expensive to me.

Off Topic:

A deplorable vote for Angela Merkel. I found this a good read. Basically, the author suggests the alternative to Merkel are Nazis or Commies. There was a time when Germany was faced with that choice before, and if you recall, it didn’t end well.

Tabs are filling up, so it’s time to clear them.

Governor Malloy’s proposal to try to balance the state budget on the backs of Connecticut gun owners, and the poor trying to exercise their Constitutional rights, is getting some backlash. We may be able to beat him on this. Malloy is one of the most unpopular Governors in the country.

Bloomberg’s money is back in Colorado working against us.

How to talk to people on the other side: “From one such night in Dover, Del., two images stick: Tea Partiers arriving early for the forum, clutching pocket Constitutions in their hands – and those same folks lingering afterward in the parking lot, chatting away with the NPR types, fervent but friendly.” The Tea Party was mostly a bourgeois movement that the GOP elites either ignored or actively undermined. That’s a big part of what brought about the Trumpening.

Why liberals should back Neil Gorsuch.

Neil Gorsuch is OK by Dave Kopel.

Maryland is looking to end campus carry, for the small handful of people who can actually draw a Maryland carry permit. It’s still worth fighting, because eventually we may be able to fix the carry issue through the courts.

Bans guns on planes, period, because common sense. If there’s one thing I wish I could get across to gun owners: people only value the rights they themselves enjoy. Few people have an ideological commitment to liberty. So you have to bring people into the issue.

Analysis true: “The Long-Abused Commerce Clause Will Now Bullet-Proof Concealed Carry Reciprocity.” I don’t have an issue with this, because I don’t see why we shouldn’t use the tools the left gave us. The power is properly found in the 14th Amendment, but its easier for the courts to weasel around that if they want to. The current commerce clause is harder without risking other laws built upon that edifice.

Vox: Why disabilities rights activists like me sided with the NRA on an Obama gun control rule.

Remember, they say they want “common sense” gun laws, but then do this when someone tries to open a shooting range. “‘I never would have moved to Ramsey if I knew this gun club would be there,’ she said. ‘It’s a matter of public safety. It might also jeopardize my property value as well.'” They either hate you, fear you, or some combination of both. That’s what drives them. How do you negotiate with this? You can’t. You just have to destroy them politically.

I’ve been wondering for a while whether Wayne LaPierre was planning to retire from NRA in the next Administration. It would probably be best if he retired during a period of relative stability. He is 67. Same age as my dad who’s been retired for several years now. I have no knowledge of any plans in this regard, but I’m betting Wayne retires in the next four years.

Joan Peterson, Board Member of the Brady Campaign, laments fake news among pro-gun people. When it comes to fake news and alternative facts, you can trust her. She’s an expert.

I’ve actually suspected ATF has wanted relief from the backlog of silencer paperwork for a while, but the previous Administration wouldn’t let them go there. I’m actually thinking repealing part of the NFA is within reach. I never would have believed that a decade ago. Hughes Amendment in 10 years? Who knows!

 

Welcome to the 53rd edition of Weekly Gun News, also known as “My browser is drowning under the weight of dozens and dozens of open tabs.” Maybe some of them will make it here, but I usually end up only posting maybe a third of what I have open. Some news seems interesting at first, but then it gets more “meh” as you take a second look. But here goes:

Headline Fail: “With 2016 over, a toddler has now shot a person every week in the US for two straight years.” Someone should probably apprehend the Diapered Killer before he kills again!

Lori Haas of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is a sad panda. Though, the massive increase in the federal government under Obama has blued Virginia, perhaps irrevocably.

Lower Merion Township, PA will appeal ruling, which nixed their ordinance banning guns in municipal parks, to the PA Supreme Court. The township argued it had a right to control its own property, Superior Court ruled that preemption still applied. Under the existing preemption statutes, local governments have typically lost, but it’s hard to get to court because of standing requirements.

Czech President Milos Zeman encourages Czech citizens to arm themselves.

The feds are appealing the Binderup ruling to the Supreme Court. The Third Circuit ruling in Binderup essentially said that gun rights could only be stripped away for serious crimes, and a misdemeanor with no element about unlawful use of force does not rise to that level. I had lost track of the case since District Court, but it won all the way up to Third Circuit en-banc. UPDATE: Oops, no they aren’t appealing. This is what happens when I let posts sit in the queue for days.

Makes you wonder how often this kind of thing is going to happen.

Debunking the arguments against Constitutional Carry. With patrol cars now being networked, cops can tell if someone is prohibited or not. Even at a practical level, permits are antiquated.

Shannon Watts lands an article in Teen Vogue. Do teens even still read magazines?

A War Without Rifles.

Are Gunsmiths Screwed?

Massad Ayoob: The Coolest Shooting Match Ever is Back!

Off Topic:

Reason: “If You’re Freaking Out Over Donald Trump’s Presidential Powers, Thank a Liberal!” Both Bush and Obama greatly expanded executive power. Do you see Trump trying to undo that? I don’t. Thanks guys.

I’m starting to think this might be a good idea: “The failed F-35 fighter-jet program can’t be fixed — it’s time to turn the page.”

Tam: “A God-bothering SoCon drug warrior career politician for GOP AG? Wow. That’s so maverick. I can feel the swamp draining.” I know NRA has been pulling for him, and certainly Sessions will help us there, but the drug war is yet another issue that alienates the GOP from younger generations.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Ours was a bit of a mixed bag since Bitter’s grandfather died on Friday at age 91. Her other grandfather died when she was a year old, but both her grandmothers are still living. Enough about that, maybe I have some news I’ve been collecting. Some of it might be a bit dated, but hopefully obscure enough you might not have seen it:

Looks like Miss Sloane was a box office bust. This is a good cultural indicator, but when is it ever fun to pay someone to give a political lecture. There are plenty of people on the Internet who will give you one for free!

The EU agrees to new gun control laws. I’m sure that’ll work just great!

Apparently Bloomberg’s people proffered a film plot from a small-time filmmaker in order to turn it into a statement on behalf of gun control. I’d argue they ruined his film by bringing politics into it.

The microstamping suit in California has been reinstated. I think we’re going to see a lot of movement on legal cases now that there will be an Administration change. However, it’s probably worth noting that replacing Scalia with another judge who’s solid on the issue doesn’t get us anywhere. I’ve said for a while I think Roberts is the soft underbelly of the Heller majority, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Chicago is trying to get everyone fingerprinted to get FOID cards. If Republicans suggested such a thing for voting there would be (justifiable) outrage.

More good cultural indicators: minorities continue to arm up. I don’t blame them. If even half the things being spread about Trump were true, they’d be fools not to. Also, The Liberal Gun Club says they are seeing a membership surge. Come for the panic, stay for the freedom.

Charles C.W. Cooke is writing in America’s 1st Freedom: “The trappings of true grassroots organizations (like NRA) are curiously missing from gun control groups. Where are their conventions? Where are the bus tours, the meetups, the magazines, the marches?”

Texas is floating a bill to make carry licenses free. I have a better idea: why not stop requiring them in the first place?

Local news story on silencers. I think we’re going to win on this, largely because I think we’ve found good arguments, and the other side basically has nothing. Why do they hate our hearing?

David Keene: “Heller ruling just the start on gun rights.”

Bring back the blue dogs! This is spot on, which is exactly why it will get ignored.

Gun owners fit no stereotype. Back when I got into shooting I didn’t fit the stereotype either, but the older I get the more I fit the stereotype.

Blood in the streets, they say, if Trump signs a reciprocity bill. That argument was worn and tired twenty years ago.

USA Today: “Trial reveals Roof’s gun purchase went unchallenged by store owner.” The real headline would be “FBI cocks up background check on Roof.”

Victory in PA Commonwealth Court over local ordinance banning guns in parks.

Prof. Nelson Lund: “The Right to Arms and the American Philosophy of Freedom”

The Brady Campaign are celebrating failure in their fundraising campaigns. To be fair, spinning loss as victory is about all they can do. All the movement in this issue has been the result of Bloomberg, and as John Lott has argued, he doesn’t have much to show for the money spent.

The Hill: “What Gun Groups Want from Trump.”

Gun sales surged ahead of new California Assault Weapons Ban.

The Blaze: “As it turns out, NAGR is just one of a pack of ankle-biter groups, all of which trace back to Mike Rothfeld. Among this web of Rothfeld groups are Campaign for Liberty, Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership, and Council for Freedom and Enterprise.”