Shall Not Be Questioned – Page 1177 – The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …

Gun Show Recommendation in Virginia

Looks like they managed to stop a recommendation of banning private sales.Â Very good.Â What they got was this:

Despite some opposition Tuesday, the commission recommended that lawmakers consider requiring Virginia State Police to be on hand at some gun shows to help monitor firearms transactions. The cost of the troopers’ presence would be borne by gun show promoters.

What exactly are they going to monitor here?Â I would say no harm in this if the cost wasn’t pushed to the promoters.Â Not all shows are large, and profitable enough to cover this.Â I have no problems with law enforcement being present at gun shows, in fact, I think they should be.Â But if the people arguing for this suggest it’s a public good, the public should bear the cost.

NPS Struggling With New Regulations

It’s funny, because law enforcement agencies around the country don’t seem to have any problem dealing with this issue.Â I can see where there might be some problems though, in that state boundaries inside the park might not be well delineated everywhere, but that problem certainly isn’t unique to National Parks.Â There’s also issues with federal facilities:

Not only that, but the feds have their own rules and regulations. One prohibits guns in federal buildings or facilities, but just what constitutes a federal facility isnâ€™t clear.

â€œA visitor center is an easy one,â€ Nash said. â€œOur administration building is another easy one. Itâ€™s not clear to us at this point … [if] every structure would be classified as a federal facility even though we own it.â€

The uncertainty extends to concessionaires too. Is a building still a federal facility if it is run by a private company?

Actually, this is something that should be deflined more clearly across the board, but what constitutes a federal facility is pretty clearly defined in 18 USC 930:

The term ”Federal facility” means a building or part thereof owned or leased by the Federal Government, where Federal employees are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties.

So if the concessionaires are not federal employees, they aren’t federal facilities.Â Outhouses, under this guideline, would also not be considered federal facilities, because federal employees are not regularly present.Â Of course, the law also says:

(h) Notice of the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) shall be posted conspicuously at each public entrance to each Federal facility, and notice of subsection (e) shall be posted conspicuously at each public entrance to each Federal court facility, and no person shall be convicted of an offense under subsection (a) or (e) with respect to a Federal facility if such notice is not so posted at such facility, unless such person had actual notice of subsection (a) or (e), as the case may be.

So they have to post, or notify you in some other way, in order for them to convict you.Â But I can see the confusion.Â Most other agencies wouldn’t have to deal with this problem, since their facilities are more cut and dry.

Bianchi Cup: NRA Action Pistol

Caleb and Breda did a pretty good interview last night with Tom Hughes, the Action Pistol coordinator for the National Rifle Association.Â Action Pistol culminates every year with the Bianchi Cup.Â Go have a listen.

California Leavin’

California is shedding population faster than any other state.Â Who knew that people wouldn’t want to live in a state with high taxes, overpriced real-estate, schizophrenic business regulations, bad gun laws, and earthquakes.

But before the rest of us start partying like it’s 1984, they have to move somewhere, and they take their voting patterns with them.Â It’s kind of like The Borg.Â You will be assimilated.

Recession Busting Meals

Glenn Reynolds blogs about this ridiculous story at CBS News about how to cook on a budget.Â A “recession busting” budget of $35 dollars a meal.Â The slow cooker swiss steak we made last night was less than $10, and could have easily fed a family.Â Are these recession busting meals for former Wall Street execs who now find themselves faced with the horror of having to live like ordinary, every day rich people?Â No wonder the old media is going down the toilet.

Tavor TAR-21 Seen in Gaza

Nothing like a little gun p0rn to round out the night.Â Looks like the Israelis are deploying the Tavor TAR-21 assault rifle to some troops in Gaza.Â They can be seen in these videos:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5TXvrl9CO4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHhs9ihSmbU[/youtube]

Also in the news, apparently Israel is using the Ruger 10/22 at long ranges to suppress rioters in the West Bank.Â Anyone throwing rocks is a deadly threat to anyone within range of the rocks.Â I don’t see why people have a problem with this.Â Also, if anyone’s curious, the items being worn on the helmets of Israeli soldiers is the Mitznefet, and is part of their camouflage.

So Long Mike Sullivan

Mike Sullivan has resigned as director of ATF. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong. I originally said that the Bush administration would end with Mike Sullivan in charge of ATF, despite any opposition to his confirmation. It’s a week to go until Bush is out, so pretty clearly my prediction was off.

UPDATE: Turns out the resignation isn’t effective until January 20, so I guess I was right after all.

Guns and Crime Debate, Part III

Latest study shows that yes, shall issue laws reduce crime.

Washington Getting Wealthy

Radley Balko talks about Washington D.C. wealth boom:

If we look at household income, the picture grows starker. After the 2000 Census, the richest county in America was Douglas County, Colorado. By 2007, Douglas County had fallen to sixth. The new top three are now Loudon County, Virginia; Fairfax County, Virginia; and Howard County, Maryland. All three are suburbs or exurbs of Washington, D.C. In 2000, 14 of the 100 richest counties were in the Washington, D.C., area. In 2007, it was nine of the richest 20.

Radley points out in the article who’s expense DC is getting rich at, and the answer is yours.

Heeding God’s Call

Apparently God wants us to harass businesses which sell a lawful product.Â Interesting that one of the “Clergy” in the pictures looks an awful lot like Bryan Miller.Â I didn’t even know Bryan was ordained!

Colosimo acknowledged that a significant number of handguns sold at his shop have been discovered to have been used in crimes. However, he said, that is because of the shop’s large sales volume for decades.

“We sell 100 times more than some other stores,” he said, adding that the shop has had contracts with “at least 250” Pennsylvania and New Jersey police departments during the last six decades, including Philadelphia’s.

He said he believed it was unfair to deny guns to prospective buyers simply because their previous purchases had been used in crimes.

“Suppose you came in here 10 years ago and bought five guns,” he said. “And you lose one of them, or it’s stolen, and five years later it’s used in a robbery. Does that mean I shouldn’t sell it to you?”

Miller said that retailers who signed the pledge still could “use discretion” in such situations.

Good for Colosimo’s for standing up to this crap.Â Any local gun shops who agree to not sell guns to people who have had guns stolen from them will not get my business, and I will do everything I can to make sure everyone knows why.

If anyone buys for a minute that Miller wouldn’t sue or smear any shop that used this “discretion” he speaks of, then they are nuts.